Of Destiny and Fights to the Finish
by efficacious humorosity
Summary: Sequel to Of Sisters and Midnight Kisses. Sirius, Starr, Lily, and James now balance fighting against Voldemort as Aurors and their growing relationships. Sirius and Starr are engaged, but with the war, who will live and who will die? SBOC and JPLE
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. First chapter of the sequel to "Of Sisters and Midnight Kisses"! Read and review please! Enjoy. **

Chapter 1

"Wonderful, just wonderful."

Sirius Black pulled his cloak off with a flourish and threw it unceremoniously onto the ground. He angrily kicked off his shoes, not caring when they hit the wall with two loud thumps. "Lucius Malfoy is such an arse," he muttered under his breath. There was a knock at the door. He groaned loudly- as if his day couldn't get any worse. "What?" he asked gruffly, throwing the door open with more force than was necessary.

Starr Potter stood at the door, a bemused expression on her face. "Well, fine," she huffed, trying hard not to burst out laughing. "If you don't want to see me, I'll just… leave."

It was all Sirius could not to tackle her in a hug right then and there. "Sorry, Nova," he said, stepping aside to let her into his flat. "Bad day at work. Nothing you can't fix."

She grinned widely as the stepped inside, tucking a lock of her black hair behind her ear. "That's okay, Padfoot." She sat down on his couch, bouncing slightly, as if to test its squishiness. "So what's this about a bad day at work?"

"Lucius Malfoy is being a wanker," Sirius told her, sitting next to her on the couch. He draped his arm over her shoulders and she snuggled into him.

"Is that supposed to be surprising?" she asked.

"No," he admitted with a shrug. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's being a huge pain in my arse."

"What could make you… forget about him?" she whispered and he was suddenly aware of her proximity to him. Her lips were mere centimeters from his and one of her hands reached up to cup his face gently.

"Erm…" he said. _Brilliant, Sirius, _he thought dryly. _Your fiancée is obviously trying to set up a romantic moment and the best you can manage is 'erm'. That'll go down in the record books, that will. _

She rolled her hazel eyes at him, chuckling softly. "It's okay, Pads," she said. "I know exactly what you mean." And then her mouth was on his. His hands flew to her hair, running his fingers through it, loving the feel of the silky strands between his fingers. His tongue traced her bottom lip, coaxing her deeper into the snogging session. She obliged and parted her mouth. He moaned, placing his hands on her hips and gently hauling her onto his lap.

Suddenly, the front door opened and there was a startled cry of, "Bloody hell!"

Sirius and Starr sprang apart, both turning their heads to see an embarrassed James standing at the door. He looked as mischievous as ever, his black hair ruffled, as he said, "I just wanted to innocently visit my best mate, but no- instead I'm scarred for life with the image of my best mate and my little sister shoving their tongues down each other's throats."

"You already had that image," Starr retorted, standing to greet her brother. "Where's Lily?"

"Oh, sure," James scoffed. "No 'how are you, James?' or 'where have you been, James?'. All you care about is Lily. I see how it is."

"I bloody know how you are, James, I work with you!" Starr yelped, slapping her elder brother's arm playfully.

"I know, I know," he laughed, rubbing his arm tenderly. "She's coming, she just wanted to have a quick bite to eat before she left."

"I've got plenty of food here," Sirius pointed out, looking a bit rejected. "I can feed her."

James flushed. "W-well, she l-likes to eat her own food."

Starr cocked her head at James, scrutinizing him with her intelligent hazel eyes. "Oh, I see," she chuckled. She turned to Sirius, saying, "They started a snogging session the minute Lily got home and didn't want us to know, so Lily's straightening up."

Starr sighed loudly as she entered the Auror office, throwing her bag down unceremoniously onto her chair. Only she and a few others were assigned to this shift, including James. Lily and Sirius, meanwhile, had the day shift. "Coffee?" James offered her, extending his hand, in which he held an extra cup of the steaming brown drink.

"Thanks, bro," she said, taking it from him. She took a small sip, relishing the hot caffeinated liquid rushing down her throat.

"Is it fixing up to be another boring night of blackjack?" he asked, leaning against her desk.

"Please," she scoffed. "That was hardly boring. You're only saying that because you still owe me fifteen Galleons." She then sighed. "Probably."

"Everyone to the situation room!" someone cried. "We've got a Death Eater report in Diagon Alley."

"And I know nothing," Starr muttered under her breath as she and James headed for the situation room. They took seats next to each other towards the middle of the long table. "Who do you think they're going to send out?"

James shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Hopefully, us. I mean, we haven't had a single damn assignment yet, but Dawson's gone on three straight assignments."

"Shh," she hissed as Freeman, the Auror in charge of the night shift, started to speak.

"One of our reliable informants has reported a Death Eater attack at Flourish and Blott's in Diagon Alley. We've agreed to send out two Aurors to take care of the situation. Potter and Potter- time to shine," he said, looking at them gravely.

"Seriously?" James said, grinning crookedly. "Sweet!"

Freeman shook his head, deciding to deal with James's attitude later. "Go. NOW!" he barked.

James and Starr spun on the spot and with a crack, Disapparated. "I hope those two know what they're doing."

James and Starr burst through the open front door of Flourish and Blott's into a hellish deluge of curses and hexes flying everywhere. "Bloody hell," Starr grunted, expertly dodging a curse. _"Incarcerous!"_

There were about four or five Death Eaters that were attacking the shop owners, who had been known to give help to Muggleborns whenever they could. _"Impedimenta!"_ James cried over the din in the shop.

"POTTER!" roared a voice. "JAMES POTTER IS MINE!"

James whipped his head around to see who had so vindictively called him out. He caught sight of his challenger and his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Snivellus," he sneered, "how unpleasant to meet you."

A killing curse mixed her by a mere centimeter and Starr involuntarily let loose a shrill squeak. James looked at her in alarm and Snape seized his opportunity. _"Sectumsempra!"_

James felt as though a sword had ripped through his flesh and he could feel blood leaving him at an alarming rate. His consciousness was fading. The last thing he heard was Starr.

"No!" she screamed shrilly, cursing any Death Eater that stood between her and Severus Snape. She pointed her wand at him and cast some silent curse. A streak of purple light hit Snape square in the chest and he fell backwards, knocked out. The Death Eaters law strewn on the floor around her as she rushed towards her brother, tripping over the body of a Death Eater in the process. "James!" That was the last thing he heard. Then… nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue please. Thanks for the reviews and please keep it up! Enjoy. **

Chapter 2

James Potter's still form had been laid on a bed at St. Mungo's. His hazel eyes fluttered open to find five familiar faces staring down at him. "He's alive!" Sirius cried, relieved. Starr sighed loudly in relief as Lily gasped James's hand tightly in her own and kissed it, a few tears leaking from her green eyes.

"Don't cry, Lils," James croaked weakly, hating to see her cry.

"You gave us a damn good scare there, mate," Remus told him, leaning against the railing of the bed. "Starr wouldn't tell us who cursed you."

James glanced at his sister and their hazel eyes locked. Starr's jaw was clenched and her hazel eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "It was Snivellus," James told them, tearing his eyes from his younger sister's broken-looking face.

Lily looked as if she was about to start crying even harder and her green eyes darkened. "That low-life, dirty son of a bitch," Sirius muttered murderously. Peter squeaked nervously; Sirius's anger unnerved him.

"What happened after he cursed me?" James asked, cocking his head at sister. She was still fighting her tears, her breath coming in shuddering gasps.

"Shhh," Sirius muttered soothingly, taking her into his arms and rubbing her back comfortingly.

"I cursed them all," Starr told them all quietly. "A few of them have died- apparently I put too much feeling into my curses. Snivellus… he's alive, but he's in intensive care right now."

"He's already dead," Lily said coldly, speaking for the first time since she had heard of James's attack. "The S-Severus that was my f-friend wouldn't have done this to you, James. He wouldn't have hurt you- hurt me- like this. For all I know or care, the Severus that _I _knew is dead."

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"Are you feeling better?" Sirius asked. He and Starr were in the coffee room at St. Mungo's, both quietly sipping their cups of steaming cappuccino.

"Yes," she muttered, her mouth twisting into a grimace. "Can we not talk about that right now? Change of subject please."

"All right," he consented, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully, as if he thought it might give him some sort of answer. "When did you first start to fall for me?"

She blushed furiously, something that Sirius had never seen her do. "Well," she started slowly, "it started in the beginning of my fourth year, and that would be your fifth. I don't know, Sirius- you were just funny, handsome, clever, loyal and caring. As for when I fell in love with you? Erm, that'd have to be sometime around the summer we started dating." She looked thoughtful for a moment before cocking her head at him, asking, "What about you?"

"Well," he said slowly. "To be honest, I've always had a fancy for you, no matter how small. It started about a year after I met you, when I was- what- thirteen. It was just a small crush, and I didn't think anything would ever come of it. It got stronger throughout the years, especially when you started spending most of your time with the Marauders. I knew I was in love with you when… well, do you remember the horrible prank I pulled in my sixth year?"

She grimaced, replying, "Unfortunately, I do. You told Snape that if he followed the Marauders to the Whomping Willow that he would find out where Remus went every month. Then he almost died and my brother saved him."

"Yeah," Sirius replied, looking remorseful. "That was stupid. I didn't realize it until afterwards, but I was being an arse. Do you remember what happened after?"

She laughed mirthlessly. "Of course. My brother refused to talk to you for nearly three weeks. Remus did the same and Peter swayed back and forth between giving you the cold shoulder and being friendly."

"Do you remember our talk?"

She nodded, as the memory flooded back to her…

_Flashback _

_"Padfoot," the fifth year Starr called softly. Sirius had been sitting in the armchair closest to the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room since seven that evening- it was now nearly one in the morning. His head snapped up as he heard her voice. _

_"Starr," he countered softly, cautiously, as if he was afraid that she was going to start yelling at him if he spoke too loudly. _

_"We need to talk," she told him gently, sitting in the armchair next to his. "My brother isn't talking to you, is he?" _

_Sirius shook his head as his heart sank to his shoes. "Neither is Remus." _

_"I'm sure you can understand why they're so furious," she said, cocking her head at him intelligently. _

_"Of course," he replied, laughing hollowly. "What I did was stupid. Not only was it stupid, it was something that a Death Eater would do. I'm not that kind of guy." He looked up at her, his dark eyes probing her hazel ones intently. "I hope you know that, Starr." _

_"Of course I know that," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I've known you since I was eleven; I know that what you did was extremely out of character for you." _

_"C-can you tell James that I'm really, really sorry?" he pleaded, his face not unlike that of a lost puppy. "And that I know what I did was wrong and that I nearly killed someone?" _

_She nodded. "Sure, Sirius," she replied. "Anything for you." _

_"Starr," he said thoughtfully, "James and Remus won't talk to me and Peter keeps switching sides. Why the hell are you talking to me?" _

_"Because," she said, "I may be James's sister, but I have a different approach to things like this. He tried to ignore the problem and I confront it." _

_"So… I'm a problem?" he said quietly, looking a bit dejected. _

_She chuckled. "Not at all, Sirius," she said. "You're a good friend of mine who did something stupid. You're not problem." _

_"Thanks, Nova," he muttered, a small smile playing on his lips for the first time in days. Starr stood to leave, but paused in front of him, her arms open wide for a hug. He stood and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. The hug was a bit too friendly for two people who were "just friends" and they both knew it, but they didn't care. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck and her lips accidentally brushed against his skin. His arms looped around her waist as her arms wrapped around his back, crushing her upper body to his. After what seemed several long hours, she released him, pulling away with a faint blush on her cheeks. _

_"Good night, Sirius," she muttered. _

_As she walked away, Sirius murmured in reply, "Good night, Nova. I love you." She didn't hear him. _

_End Flashback _

"Sirius," she muttered breathlessly. "That long?"

He nodded. "That long."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I still don't own Harry… J.K.R. does. –sighs wistfully- Thanks for the reviews and please keep it up. Enjoy. **

Chapter 3

James was released from St. Mungo's the following day, having recovered rather well from his wounds. Sirius agreed to take his shift that night in the Auror department; it was forbidden for James to return to work until the next week. "You need to rest," Lily had insisted, her emerald green eyes plagued with worry.

He had argued with her until he looked into her eyes and saw them sparkling with tears. "All right, Lils," he had said quietly, his hazel eyes cast downwards.

Starr was sitting at her small desk in the Auror department, her nose buried deep in a piece of Muggle literature titled _Pride and Prejudice_. "Can I join you?" a voice asked.

The voice distracted her reading and she looked up, wide-eyed, for the speaker. Sirius. She gently dog-eared the page she was on and shut her book quietly, smiling up at him. "Of course."

He conjured up an extra chair for himself and sat opposite her, his hands resting on the surface of the desk. "Do you remember when we were at Hogwarts?" he asked, a reminiscent look spreading across his face.

"Sirius," she chuckled. "You speak of it like it was _decades_ ago; it was only about two years ago. Of course I remember." Lily, James, Sirius, and Starr had all gone through a rigorous eighteen-month training program to become Aurors. They had received full Auror status only six months before. Amidst all the training and fighting, Sirius and Starr had been unable to plan their wedding; they had now been engaged for nearly a full two years. She glanced down at the diamond ring on her left hand and sighed, "Are we ever going to manage to get married?"

"Of course, Nova," he said smoothly, taking her left hand and pressing a kiss to it. "In time. You know we had none of that while we were training."

She nodded. "But what about now?"

"We'll work on that," he promised. His dark eyes turned somber as he added, "I want it as much as you do, Starr. Do you know how hard it is to have to call you 'Starr Potter' and not 'Starr Black'?"

She smiled at him, her hazel eyes brightening. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He leaned over to the desk to press a kiss to her lips, and she felt reassured, knowing that they were merely waiting for the right time to get married. But… what if they ran out of time?

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"Lils?" James called from his room softly. "Can I have some lemonade?"

"Sure," she replied from the kitchen. She fixed his requested beverage and headed down the halls towards his bedroom, humming as she went. He smiled at the sight of her, the corners of his hazel eyes crinkling in a rather James-like fashion. "Here you go." She set the glass down on a small table next to him, pecking his cheek softly. She turned to leave, but the sound of his voice stopped her.

"Lily?"

A smiled played on her lips as she turned to face him. There was a pleading look to his eyes as he flashed her his famous puppy dog eyes. "Yes, James?"

"Can you please stay with me? I want to talk to you," he said, sticking out his lower lip in a pout that she knew all too well.

She sighed, feigning indecision. "I suppose," she grinned at him. She sat on his lap as his strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her into him. "How are you?"

"The usual," he shrugged. "Being attacked by Death Eaters, having my little sister save my arse… you know, normal, everyday stuff." She knew she shouldn't find his words funny, but a small giggle escaped her lips nonetheless.

Her eyes landed on a picture James had on his nightstand of Starr and Sirius. In the photo, Sirius and Starr alternated between kissing, hugging, and waving and smiling at them. She sighed happily, thinking of their best friends. "Aren't they so adorable together?" she asked as he ran a hand through her fiery red hair.

"Utterly," he agreed. "Though it's bloody indecent when I walk in on them snogging."

She slapped his arm playfully. "James, have you ever thought that maybe if you let them know that you were coming beforehand, that maybe you wouldn't have the image of them shoving their tongues down each other's throats?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, resting his chin on her shoulder. Then he replied, "No." He glanced at the picture himself. Photo-Sirius winked at him as photo-Starr blew him a kiss. "But I am happy for them."

"Me too," she agreed. "They've been engaged for nearly two years now, though."

"That's what this war does, Lils," he said softly. "It tears families, friends, lovers apart. Violence… it's not true what they say. 'Violence is never the answer.' Violence is the answer- if your question is how to crush spirits and take away lives." Her green eyes met his hazel ones.

"Why are you fighting then?" she whispered softly, turning to face him, straddling him now.

"You," he replied. Her mouth formed a surprised 'o'. "You, Starr, Sirius, Remus, Peter, my mum and dad… I don't want this violence to get to you. Voldemort will never come even close to any of you, if I have anything to do with it."

A strange look came into her green eyes. And then her mouth was on his and her tongue was in his mouth. He reacted instantly, one arm coiling instinctively around her waist, his other hand entangling itself in her hair. His tongue met hers, clashing and needy. Her legs tightened about his waist, her arms looped around his neck. She moaned, arching her back and tilting her head backwards. His hand moved from her waist to his torso as her hands tightened around his neck, eliciting a moan from him. He pulled away for a moment, taking her earlobe gently between his teeth. "Merlin," she moaned softly.

"No," he corrected quietly, planting kisses on the column of her neck. "James." He reattached his lips to hers, gently pulling her bottom lip into his mouth. She gasped, clinging to his neck almost desperately now. She finally pulled away, breathless and swollen lipped. "I love you."

"I love you, too, James," she breathed back heavily, leaning against him dependently. "James?"

"Hmmm?"

"I want to marry you."

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The door burst open and Starr and Sirius jumped from their chairs to greet their guest. "Professor Dumbledore, sir," Starr gasped. "How may we help you?"

"Good evening, Ms. Potter," he greeted, an urgent look in his eyes. "I believe you are filling in for Mr. Potter, Mr. Black?"

"Yes, sir," Sirius nodded, stepping forward.

"This is of the utmost importance," Dumbledore said gravely. "I need to speak to you two, Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew. Immediately."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for the all the reviews and please keep it up! Enjoy. **

Chapter 4

"You are needed."

The words were met with silence in the living room of James and Sirius's flat; Lily, Starr, Sirius, and James stared back at Dumbledore, speechless and dumbstruck. It was Starr who eventually broke the silence, stuttering. "F-for what?"

"The Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore said, "is a group of witches and wizards fighting against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The four of you have already become Aurors. And I know for the fact that Mr. Potter and Miss Potter are _extremely _motivated in their fight against him." James and Starr exchanged dark glances, remembering their parents' murders. Starr nodded her head of black hair, her hazel eyes sparkling with unshed tears. She relaxed as she felt Sirius wrap an arm around her waist, his hand resting firmly on her hip.

"We'll do it," James said softly after a few moments of awkward silence. Despite the low volume of his voice, it was full of determination and strength. "We'll join. Or, at least, I will."

"Me too," Starr said, speaking up. Her hand clenched into a fist, shaking with fury as she thought of Voldemort.

"I'm in," Sirius added, his grip on Starr's waist increasing meaningfully.

"You think I'm going to miss out on all the action while you three are out there putting your arses on the line?" Lily scoffed. "Of course not. I'm in as well."

A small smile formed on the headmaster's lips. "Brilliant." And with a crack, he was gone.

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"Erm… Lils?" James asked nervously, approaching her sitting on the couch.

"Hmmm?" she replied, paging through a copy of a magazine. Her red hair was pinned back out of her brilliant emerald green eyes, her mouth moving in distracted circles as she read.

"Lils," he prodded, poking her arm gently. "This is important."

She heard the pleading note to his voice and looked up, closing her magazine and throwing it carelessly over the back of the couch. Her eyes met his hazel ones behind his glasses; she noticed that he was biting his lip nervously as one hand ran anxiously through his already windswept black hair- a dangerous combo. "What is it, James?"

He sighed loudly, a large puff of air escaping from his lips. He opened his mouth, searching for the words, before blinking and closing his mouth again. She looked at him, amused. "Lily," he started, the sound of her name on his lips enough to make her shiver. "You know I love you, right?"

"Of course, James," she replied softly. "And I love you."

"Right…" he said uncertainly, a faint shaking to her voice. "Lily, this war… we don't know how long we have to live. Especially being on the front lines as we are… you just never know. Anything is possible."

She bit her lip, fighting to keep the tears forming in her green eyes from spilling over. "James," she whispered softly. "What's your point?"

"I could die tomorrow," he said softly, looking away from her as his hand fumbled visibly in his pocket for something. "So… I'm asking this now." She gasped audibly as he dropped softly onto the carpet on his right knee, holding out a black velvet ring box. "Lily Evans… will you marry me?"

She was stunned, speechless, surprised, shocked, and hundreds of other words starting with the letter 's'. She gaped at him like a fish for a few moments before saying, "Don't call me that."

He made as if to recoil, seeming to think he had done something wrong or caught her on the wrong day. She looked amused as a teasing grin played on her lips as she added, "Call me Lily Potter."

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Sirius slowed in his steps as he approached Starr' bedroom door, sucking in a deep breath. He knocked softly on the wood, his knuckles rapping against its surface. "Starr?" he called softly, pressing an ear to the door to listen for any response. There was none. He slowly turned the doorknob, opening the door silently. There was no one in the room. There was, however, a faint light coming from a crack underneath a door in the back right corner of her bedroom. He approached the door slowly and turned the knob, a brilliant burst of light assaulting his eyes from the bathroom. His dark eyes landed on Starr, sitting in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest as tears streamed down her beautiful face.

She looked up at him, her hazel eyes shining with more tears. "I… j-just sit."

He nodded faintly, tearing his eyes from her tear-streaked face. Sweet Merlin, he hated to see her cry. When he was seated next to her, his arm wrapped strongly about her warm form, he asked huskily, "Starr, what's wrong?"

She sobbed harder, her body convulsing with the violence of her tears. He pressed a kiss to her sweet-smelling hair, feeling a few tears leak out of his own eyes. He wrapped his other arm around her as well, drawing her into him. She buried her face into his chest, her tears wetting his shirt thoroughly. "Tell me what's wrong," he pleaded, his lips brushing against the smoothness of her cheek.

"W-we're running out t-time," she stammered, looking up at him. Her hazel eyes shone up at him as she hiccupped through her tears.

"What do you mean?" he inquired, hugging her tightly.

"Sirius, we're in the Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort… he won't be coming after our neighbors, he'll be coming after _us_. We're running out of time. What if we…" she said, her voice trailing off as she began to bawl with renewed vigor.

"What if we never got married," he finished for her. It was not a question.

"I don't want to die," she said, "or have you die and never have gotten married because we thought we had all the time in the world, Padfoot."

"Me too, Nova," he replied, kissing the corner of her mouth. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She had barely gotten the words out when he crushed his lips to hers in a passionate, demanding kiss. She moaned in approval against his lips, arching her back and looping her arms around his neck possessively. Her legs encircled his waist, tightening and jerking him against her. He gently forced her onto her back onto the cold tile floor of the bathroom, his hot tongue sweeping against the seam of her lips- a request. She hastily obliged, his taste clouding her senses as her legs once against tightened around his waist. He supported his weight above her on his hands, but her legs jerked him against her once more and he lost his balance, landing roughly on top of her. Her fingers fiddled with the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards, her cool, soft hands resting against the hot plane of his back. He moaned into her mouth as one of her hands entangled itself in locks of his dark hair.

"Well, hullo," said a bemused voice. Sirius reluctantly tore his lips from Starr's, looking up to find Lily in the bathroom door, her emerald green eyes sparkling as she laughed.

"Hello, Silly-Lily," said Sirius through gritted teeth. "May I bother to ask _why _it is you felt the need to barge in on a rather nice snog we were having?"

Starr flashed Lily an apologetic look, apologizing on Padfoot's behalf.

"It is a rather good reason," Lily said, moving her left hand from behind her back and waving it at them.

"Finally!" Starr gushed, gasping when she saw the diamond engagement ring on Lily's ring finger. "Blimey, look at the size of that rock!"

Meanwhile, Sirius stared at it, transfixed. "Oooh- SHINY!!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Please, please, please review! It's really depressing to see how many hits this fic gets and how few reviews in comparison. So please review! Thanks and enjoy. **

Chapter 5

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." As James swooped in to plant a searing kiss on Lily's lips, Starr, Sirius, Peter, and Remus silently cast the magical spell that was required to complete any magical marriage **(A/N: I also used this in my post-DH fic, "Moving On". Go read it, but only after you read "Blood Legacy" and then "Dangerous Waters")**.

The flash of the camera nearly blinded Starr from where she was standing as Maid of Honor, grinning broadly across the room at Sirius, who was filling the well-deserved role of Best Man. They walked towards each other and linked arms, following James and Lily who were now leading the way up the aisle. "You were brilliant," Sirius whispered in her ear, his hot breath tickling her lobe.

She shivered in pleasure, replying, "All I did was stand there, Padfoot."

"True," he agreed, his lips brushing against her cheek softly. "But you looked bloody beautiful doing it."

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"Congratulations, James," Starr said, hugging her older brother tightly against her. "I can't believe you beat Sirius and me to the altar."

"Thanks," James laughed jovially, his glasses slipping from their place on the bridge of his nose. He pushed them back up, smiling down at his younger sister. "But you and Sirius will make it there soon enough."

His hazel eyes twinkled as he turned to speak to Remus, missing Starr mutter, "I hope so," under her breath. She then searched the room for Lily, finding her redheaded friend in the corner, talking to Frank and Alice Longbottom. Starr hurried over to her, nearly tackling her in a hug when she reached her. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks!" Lily squealed in return, looking like a vision in her beautiful white dress. She held Starr out at arms' length, as if examining her intensely. Almost as if she knew what she was thinking, she said, "But you and Sirius better hurry up. It's _my_ turn to be happy for _you_." Starr flashed her a small smile and blushed faintly.

The festive music was suddenly interrupted as Peter Pettigrew flew into the room, his eyes wide and panting heavily. "What's wrong, Wormtail?" Remus asked as he hastily rushed forward from the crowd to help Peter to a chair.

"The Dark Lord," Peter wheezed, bending forward in his seat. "He's… taken the Ministry. H-he's killed the Minister of Magic!" A collective gasp swept through the crowds. **(A/N: Yes, this is a parallel to book 7.)**

"Peter," Sirius said, coming up beside his two friends now. "D-does this mean what I think it means?"

Peter nodded. "He's coming." Without warning, the doors to the reception hall burst open with a crash and a barrage of hexes and jinxes burst forth into the crowd.

Thinking quickly, Starr began ordering people to leave. "APPARATE!" she yelled. "NOW, APPARATE NOW!" Cracks echoed throughout the room, mingling with the calls of curses, as numerous people Disapparated, leaving only James, Lily, Sirius, Starr, Peter, Remus, Alice, and Frank to fight the Death Eaters. She looked up, noticing that a Death Eater was sneaking up on James. Malfoy. Her lip curled into a smirk as she called, "Malfoy!" She grabbed a knife from the nearest table and hurled it at him with all her strength. Her actions had the intended effect- Malfoy was distracted and backed away from James to avoid the knife that was flying in his direction. The knife hit the wall and embedded itself in it, quivering ominously.

"Thanks, sis," James called as he dueled Snape. "I imagine that Lily would be quite hocked off if I managed to get myself killed just a few hours after our wedding."

"No problem," she replied. She noticed a curse flying her way and cried, _"Protego!"_

Her Shield Charm erupted in the middle of the room and she released the spell after a moment, diving back into the raging battle. "SNIVELLUS!"

The battle literally froze as all in the room turned to watch Lily storm over to the greasy-haired Snape, an angry fire burning in her green eyes. "No Mudblood will speak to me like that," Snape spat. James snarled, but Lily sent him a warning glance- this was between her and Snape.

"You!" she screeched shrilly, circling him now, her wand pointed at him with a steady hand. "You cursed James!"

"What's it to you?" he shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but the fear showed in his cold black eyes. Severus Snape was indeed frightened, as he well should be.

Lily laughed mirthlessly. "Well, I don't know, he's only my husband!" she screamed, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "You're not the Severus I knew! Sevvy never would've done that to me, or James, because he knows how much James really does mean to me- the whole damn world! I though you _loved_ me, Severus." She shook her head. "But I was wrong." Lily waved her wand and a spell hit him square in the chest, knocking him backwards onto the floor as he blacked out, alive, but only just.

The battle was raging all around, composed of many small skirmishes that clashed with one another constantly. In one corner of the room, Sirius was dueling his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. "You've betrayed the family!" Bellatrix spat at him, waving her wand in complicated patterns. Sirius blocked her curses with a lazy flick of his wand, putting more effort into his own hexes and curses.

"You're no family of mine," he yelled as a retort. "My real family is James, Lily, Remus, Peter, and Starr."

At the mention of Starr's name, an angry fire sprung into Bellatrix's cold, black eyes. "Starr? That little blood traitor slut of yours?"

Sirius growled, sending a red jet of light flying at his cousin. She deftly dodged the curse, narrowing her eyes at him. "How about I go over there and make that wand a permanent part of her anatomy, eh? What would you do without her, cousin?" She had hit a nerve and she knew it, an arrogant gleam in her eyes. Sirius froze as the thought crossed his mind. Bellatrix took the opportunity and sent a curse flying at him. A purple jet of light hit him in the chest, sending him reeling backwards. He crashed into a table rather loudly, drawing the attention of all in the room.

Starr's shriek of mixed rage and anguish was loud enough that Bellatrix visibly winced upon hearing it. Starr barreled her way over to the Death Eater, cursing any of Voldemort's servants that stood in her way. If they hadn't learned after they messed with James (and they obviously hadn't), they were certainly going to learn a rather painful lesson now. She expertly cast a nonverbal spell, which hit a stunned Bellatrix squarely in the chest. As if to sense that they would be defeated if they didn't leave that very instant, the remaining Death Eaters (and their remaining appendages) Disapparated in a series of loud, quick cracks. Starr fell to the floor on her knees and gathered Sirius' limp form into her arms, tears pouring down her cheeks. The others rushed to her side and together they Apparated. Destination: St. Mungo's.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Read and review please! Sorry about the cliffie but I had to do it! Enjoy. **

Chapter 6

Sirius Black's dark eyes fluttered open, and the first thing his mind registered is that there was someone in bed next to him. He turned to his head and his eyes landed on a small, sleeping figure, with long, silky black hair, _her_ (for it was distinctly female) chest rising steadily with her breathing. Starr. He moaned rather loudly and shifted so that his chest was pressed up against her back, his arms wrapped tightly around her dozing form. She jerked awake suddenly, her hazel eyes fluttering open. "Sirius!" she cried, her voice somewhat muffled by the fact that her face was pressed into the pillow they both shared. She shifted so that she faced him, her hazel eyes probing his dark ones intently. He noticed that her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. Without warning, she buried her face in the solidity of his chest, sobbing heavily.

"Shhh," he whispered softly into her ear, her hot breath tickling it. "I'm here, Starr; I'm here."

"Sirius," she choked out through her tears, looking up at him. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

He felt his heart breaking as he took in the pain etched on her beautiful face. This had happened to her. If he had been more careful, more thoughtful, perhaps… "What happened after that bitch cursed me?" he asked, his voice cracking as he hastily changed the subject.

"I cursed her," Starr replied softly. She's in intensive care right now. Then we all Apparated here."

" 'We?'" he questioned, cocking his head at her.

"James, Lily, Remus, Peter, Alice, Frank, and me," she replied, sniffling.

"Oh," he said softly. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, saying, "I don't think _you_ should be asking _me_ that. Are _you_ okay?"

"I'll be fine," he reassured her, nodding his head. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She pressed her lips to his gently, a soft, warm hand cupping his cheek. He gently tilted her head back as his hot tongue swept against the seam of her lips. She moaned loudly as she opened her mouth to him, her tongue clashing with his. Her hands flew to the strands of his dark hair, running her fingers through it gently.

A loud cough caused them both to spring apart hastily, both blushing a furious red. "Good to see you're awake, mate," James chuckled, taking in the sight of his sister and his best mate. "Honestly, I have a knack for this or something. What is this, the third time I've walked in on the two of you snogging?"

Starr rolled her eyes and sat up in the bed, smoothing her clothes and her hair. "Is everyone okay?" Sirius asked, looking at James intently.

James nodded. "Everyone's fine. Except for your cousin, of course. She was carted off to the intensive care unit the minute the medics got there. My little sister is killing off Death Eaters left and right; they're dropping like flies with her here."

"I don't get why they're treating her," Starr muttered.

"Starr, haven't you been through this with Lily?" James sighed. "It's _war_, Starr. And even though it is, we still have some ground rules, even if Voldemort won't follow them. They're still human, little sis- even if only barely."

She sighed, closing her hazel eyes as she rested her folded hands on her lap. "You're right, James," she muttered. "You're right. They're still human."

Lily chose that moment to come bursting through the door to the room, beaming as her green eyes took in the sight before her. "You're _alive_!" she squealed, running to hug Sirius tightly.

"So it would seem," he chuckled, patting her back awkwardly. "You might want to let go of me; I think James's getting jealous." He pulled away from her hug, a smirk crossing his handsome features. James rolled his eyes at the antics of his best friend, just happy that he was alive. "Speaking of Lily and James," he said, "why aren't you two on your honeymoon right now?"

"Because we were worried about you, Padfoot," James replied, casually wrapping an arm around his wife's- his _wife_!- waist and pulling her into him.

"How long have I been out for?" Sirius asked, turning to face Starr and cocking his head at her.

"Less than a day," she replied, turning her eyes towards her brother and her best friend. "He's awake and he's fine; you two should go! I can keep Pads under control for a fortnight while you two are… where again?"

"Paris," Lily replied, sighing and staring dreamily into space. "It'll be so nice… won't it, James?"

"Only the best for my Lily," he replied, smoothing her fiery red hair with his hand and pressing a soft kiss into it. Starr rolled her eyes at their fluff as Sirius made gagging noises. "Are we really that bed?"

"Well…" Starr said, torn between being honest and being supportive of her elder brother and her best friend.

"Yes," Sirius cut in, nodding his head up and down vigorously and throwing caution to the wind. Lily pointedly ignored him.

"So we can go?" she asked, almost daring to sound the least bit hopeful.

"Of course," Starr said. "Just send me a postcard!"

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"We need to talk, Starr," Sirius said softly. Starr was sitting at the foot of his hospital bed, quickly plowing her way through a novel that was titled _The Screwtape Letters_ by C.S. Lewis. She dog-eared the page gently and shut the book, placing it softly on the spot of mattress in front of her. She looked up, her hazel eyes meeting his dark ones with a static shock- after seven years of knowing her, he still found it breathtaking to simple look her in the eye. He shook his head, knowing that some things would most likely never change.

"What?" she replied in a whisper, scooting closer to, lying her head on his lap as he sat up in the bed. He stroked her hair gently, searching for the words that he desperately needed to convey what he was thinking.

"You were right," he said, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"Of course I was," she grinned, looking up at him again. "What was I right about this time?"

"We don't know how much time we have," he murmured, his fingers now tracing the outline of her face. She shivered, nearly dying at his touch.

"Sirius, the Ministry's been corrupted by Voldemort," she explained with the patience of a saint. Saint Starr, he mused silently. It seemed rather… fitting for someone like her. "We can't have an official wedding without Ministry papers signed and there's _no way_ two Aurors are going to manage to get matrimonial papers signed if Voldy's in charge of things. No way, no how."

A familiar Marauder signature mischievous glint came into his eyes as she looked at him and she couldn't suppress the grin spreading across her face. "Now who said anything about an official wedding?" he said, cracking a grin at her.

She returned it wholeheartedly, asking, "Are you talking about… eloping?" He nodded his head enthusiastically, his thumb now running across her lower lip seductively… persuasively... She sighed. "James and Lily will throw a fit," she moaned. "But if it means I can be with you, then I'm up for _anything_."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Still don't own anything… would I really be writing fan fiction if I did? No. So I don't. All hail J.K.R., who decided Dumbledore was gay. : ) Read and review please- it makes me happy (like rain)! All chapters up to chapter 13 will be happy and fluffy, except for chapter 10. Starting in chapter 13, things will start going downhill. Enjoy. **

Chapter 7

"I don't like this," Lily muttered, pacing back and forth across the living room of her flat. "I don't like this at all." Sirius sighed loudly, wondering if he'd be better off dealing with James instead of Lily. Then he remembered the look on James's face when he and Starr had told the Potters of their plan- utter fury. He shuddered- he'd let Starr handle her own brother. James would never dream of hitting Starr. As for Sirius… that was another story entirely.

"Lily, Starr told me what you told her at the reception," Sirius said patiently, trying to remember what _exactly_ Starr had told him. "What was it again, love?" he called, hoping Starr would hear him in the next room over.

"She wanted to have her turn to be happy for me," Starr called, sounding a bit distant through the wall.

"That," Sirius said, jerking his head towards the room from which Starr had replied. "Don't you want to be happy for her?"

"Yes, but…" Lily said, seeing that he was poking holes in her argument methodically and persistently. "I want her to have a _real _wedding."

"That's just it," he said softly, almost sounding mournful. "There's no way to know who will die today, who will die tomorrow- you two are lucky we waited for you instead of doing it in the hospital room! If we wait 'til the war is over… we might never get our shot at marriage. Silly Lily…" he said, a pleading note to his voice now, "please. You know, deep down, that this is what will make the both of us happy… that what I'm saying is true. Just… please. I'm asking, no, begging you to let us be together, be… be happy."

She looked up at him, biting her lip. Her green eyes met his dark ones and he knew- she was going to cave. She nodded meekly, giving in, defeated. "All right."

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James stared sullenly at the white wall in front of him, suddenly wondering why the bloody hell Lily hadn't changed the color of the walls yet. He would have to speak to her about that. His sister's voice snapped him back to reality, despite how desperately he wanted to ignore her pleas. "James," she said firmly, her voice no longer asking, now directing. "I'm of age. If I want to elope with Sirius, I will."

"You do that," he said, his words coming out harsher than he intended. Though he was not facing her, he could easily picture Starr wince, as she always did whenever his words stung her.

"But it wouldn't feel right without your blessing." She was begging again, her voice sounding desperate. He was one hundred percent sure that if he turned to actually look at her, her face would convey the same desperation and longing her voice did. Which was why he was refusing to look at her. He didn't want to give in to her, and he knew that if he saw that look on her younger sister's face… he wouldn't be able to say no to anything. "Please, James. You _know_ that this will make both Sirius and me happy. Isn't that all you want for your sister and your best mate?"

He grunted reluctantly and she supposed that was a grunt of assent. "I want so much more for you though, Starr. You _deserve_ so much more," he told her, still resisting the urge to face her.

"Don't blame that on Sirius," she said. "It's not his fault the Ministry has fallen. Voldemort took that away from us, James. _Blame him_. But we have no other choice- any of us could die at any moment and Voldemort will _never_ let two Aurors get married, which you know full well. James- we have no other choice. Believe me, if we did, we'd wait and have a real wedding, with Lily as Maid of Honor and you as the Best Man… but unfortunately, things didn't quite go the way we had hoped. This is a last resort, James- you have to understand that."

"Is this really what you want?" he asked, heaving a great sigh and finally turning to face her. _That look!_ He was going to give in eventually- he was certain of it.

"Yes," she begged, nodding her head vigorously. "Please, James… I'm not asking as Starr the Auror… I'm asking as Starr your younger sister."

He sighed again, louder this time. "All right. Go head. You have my blessing." She threw her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you, thank you, _thank you_, James!"

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Lily screwed her green eyes shut in concentration, pointing her wand at a small stone with a shaking hand. Sirius and Starr had given her the job of transfiguring something into their wedding rings. She had argued that James was always much better at transfiguration than she had ever been. However, Starr had insisted that she be the one to do it. So here she was, hoping she didn't screw something up.

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James and Sirius had pushed aside some of the furniture in the living room to make a makeshift aisle. Starr walked down it, her arm linked with James's. She was wearing only jeans and a white shirt, but Sirius thought she looked stunning. He himself was wearing jeans as well with a black shirt. James left her in Sirius's care when they reached him and took his place on Sirius's left. Lily was on Starr's right, looking as though she were about to cry from joy. They were going to be _married_.

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"You may now kiss the bride," James said, looking a bit hesitant. He still felt uncertain about this whole thing. Sirius and Starr hadn't been married a priest (though James had certainly prayed hard enough) or a judge. Sirius seemed to sense his unease and looked uncertainly at his best mate.

"Are you okay with this, James?" he asked, pausing in the action of drawing Starr into a kiss.

James looked at Sirius and saw how concerned he was and how gently, tenderly he held Starr. Then he looked at his sister and saw how _right_ she looked in Sirius's arms. James sucked in a deep breath, feeling good about this elopement for the first time ever. "Of course I am, mate."

Grinning broadly at his wife- his _wife_- Sirius said, "We're married."

She nodded. "That we are. Glad I married a man who knows when he's gotten tied down, eh?" Sirius chuckled.

"I love you, Starr… Black," he said, his smile growing broader as he thought of how good her new surname sounded to him.

"I love you too, Sirius," she muttered as he placed a searing kiss on her lips. What could go wrong?


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks to all those who did review, and to those who didn't- please review this time! This chapter will be a bit graphic, but only very mildly. It's still rated PG-13. Lots of fluff, I promise! Enjoy. **

Chapter 8

Starr stared, almost in disbelief, at the beautiful wedding ring that Lily had crafted, which now rested on the ring finger of her left hand, where she was sure it would stay for the rest of her life, no matter how long (or, with the war raging all around them, how short) it may turn out to be. James and Lily had left to go to their own flat almost as soon as the elopement had been completed. "Look, I know you're not _legally_ married," Lily had said to Starr just before they left, "but James, Remus, Peter, and I recognize that you're married."

"Starr," said a voice. She turned towards the sound and found herself face to face with her husband. Her husband. Sirius wrapped his arms around her and crushed her body to his as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, her hot breath blossoming against his warm skin. "We're married," he muttered into her hair, his dark eyes closed in complete content.

"Hmmmm," she murmured in agreement, her lips brushing against his skin. He shivered.

"How does it feel?"

She raised her head to look at him with her hazel eyes. "Amazing."

He smiled, pressing his lips to hers. He pulled away for a moment, looking her up and down. "You must be the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

"Sirius," she laughed, her grip on the back of his neck tightening. "I'm wearing _jeans_."

"So?" he shrugged, cocking his head at her. His lips met hers again, his kiss slow, famished. She made a strangled noise of frustration in the back of her throat and kissed him harder, her lips nearly bruising his with the intensity of her kisses. He moaned in approval, his hand grasping her thigh and pulling it into a position around his waist. Her fingers tugged gently at the strands of his dark hair, her lips parting under his ministrations. She realized that they had been moving backwards when her back connected with the solidity of the wall. He slid his thigh between hers and she moaned into his mouth.

"Sirius."

He slid his thigh higher, his hand reaching under her shirt, his warm fingers splaying against her toned abdomen. She shivered at his touch, her skin set ablaze beneath his. He tore his lips from hers and began trailing kisses down her neck. He sucked at a pulse point and her back involuntarily arched. Her fingers curled into the muscles of his back as she clung to him desperately, her knees buckling as he nuzzled her neck. "I love you," he murmured, nipping at her skin.

She gasped. "I love you, too."

He reattached his lips to hers as he expertly pulled her away from the wall and backed her into the bedroom. The back of her knees collided with the edge of the bed and her knees gave out. She toppled backwards onto the bed and he fell roughly on top of her. He pulled away, looking at her hesitantly. "Starr," he breathed, "are you sure you're ready for this?"

She chuckled as much as she could when she was so out of breath, her swollen lips curving into a wide grin. "Sirius," she replied breathily. "We're _married_ now. I've been ready for a long time."

His dark eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was hoping we'd be married before we had sex," she replied, biting her lip. "You're not mad, are you?"

He chortled quietly, shaking his head. "Of course not, Nova. I love you."

"I love you, too." His lips crashed down on hers once more, his hands tugging at her shirt. She broke off for a moment to allow him to pull it up over her head before her legs wrapped about his waist, jerking him against her. He felt a tightening in his lower regions and groaned as her legs tightened around his waist. He reached around her back, fumbling with the strap of her lacy black bra. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he succeeded in unsnapping it and pulled it off. He then unbuttoned her jeans and trailed kisses down her neck, chest, and abdomen, sliding down the length of her body, taking her jeans with him. She moaned, "It's my turn now."

She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt for a few moments, before making a strangled noise in the back of her throat. Fed up, she ripped it off unceremoniously, throwing it off towards the side. She then fumbled with the zipper of his pants, pulling them downwards. he pulled away from her for a moment, resting his forehead against hers, and said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied.

"I've waited for this for a long time," he told her, a wolfish look in his dark eyes.

"So have I," she said. And without further ado, she pulled him down onto the bed on top of him.

Sirius woke the following morning and nearly jumped out of bed in shock. Starr lay in bed next to him, lying on her stomach, her raven black hair wildly tangled. He smiled to himself as memories of the previous night flooded back to him. "Damn," he whispered softly, still grinning. Starr suddenly jerked away, squinting her hazel eyes closed as she tried to adjust them to the light. He chuckled and wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her naked form against his own. He pressed a kiss into her mussed up hair, breathing in her scent. "Good morning, Nova."

"Good morning, Padfoot," she grinned, turning to face him. He kissed her forehead sweetly, smoothing the hair away from her face. "Last night was… _amazing_."

"Amazing," he agreed, nodding his head.

A worried look came into her hazel eyes as she bit her lip, looking up at him. "Sirius?" she said softly.

"What's wrong, Starr?" he asked, cocking his head at her in concern.

"Was that… was that your first time?" she asked, seeming extremely nervous. "I know you dated a lot of girls before you dated me, and you were really quite a player, so I just wasn't sure…"

He pressed a finger to her lips, effectively silencing her. "I get it, Starr," he told her. "And yes, that was my first time. Before last night, I was a virgin. You were my first, and you'll be my last, Nova." She grinned broadly, relief flooding through her being upon hearing those words. It was his turn to be worried as he furrowed his brow, asking her, "W-was that _your_ first time, Starr?"

She smiled even wider. "Of course it was, Sirius," she replied. "I wouldn't have given all of myself to anyone but you. Plus, James would've absolutely bloody _murdered_ any boy who slept with me before marriage. You know that."

He smiled. "That I do."

"Maybe we should get out of bed," she suggested, sitting up and stretching, yawning as she did. He smiled at her exposed form as the sheets fell from her body.

"But I don't want to!" he whined, grabbing her hand and pulling her back down onto the bed again.

She chuckled, her eyes twinkling jovially at him. "Why don't you convince me?"

A mischievous glint entered his eyes as he grasped her thigh and pulled it so that it rest around her waist. "Gladly."

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"James?" Lily called nervously, staring at her husbands broad back as he busily fixed dinner at the kitchen counter. She twiddled her thumbs anxiously, biting her lip.

"Yes, love?" James called back, still facing the counter as he prepared their meal.

"This is important, James," she told him, a pleading note entering her voice. He immediately dropped the large knife he was holding onto the counter and turned to face her, a serious look upon his face.

"I'm all ears, Lils," he told her, beckoning her towards him. She relented and he pulled her flush against him as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "What's up?"

"I don't know how to say this," she said uncertainly, lifting her head to look up at him with nervous emerald green eyes.

"Then just say it," he advised, urging her onward silently, gently.

"James, I'm…" she said, her voice trailing off.

"You're what, Lilykins?" he said, pressing a kiss to her vibrant red hair. "I love you. You know you can tell me anything. Anything at all."

"James, I'm…" she tried again, "I'm pregnant."

His face remained expressionless for a moment before he cracked a wide grin. "We're going to have a baby!"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I WILL NEVER OWN HARRY POTTER! Thanks for all the reviews and please keep it up! Enjoy. **

Chapter 9

"We should do this more often," James chuckled as he, Sirius, Lily, Starr, Peter and Remus sat around a table, laughing over their food. They were all eating dinner at the Potters' residence, enjoying one of the few carefree days during the war. "This is just like the old days."

"God, James," Lily grinned. "You make us sound like World War II veterans."

"Whirled wore what?" he asked interestedly, cocking his head at her.

"Never mind," she grinned, shaking her head of red hair. She looked at Starr interestedly. "Starr, don' you want any firewhiskey?"

"No thanks," Starr said, shaking her head and blushing a furious pink. "You're not drinking any either, Lils."

"That's because I'm pregnant," Lily said patiently, beaming at her best friend. "Why aren't you drinking any?"

Starr grinned back at her, her cheeks flushing an even deeper pink, if possible. "Because I'm pregnant, too." There was a prolonged silence, punctuated by James's lower jaw dropping a good three inches from its normal position.

The awkward silence was broken as Sirius knocked over his glass as he jumped onto Starr, hugging her ecstatically. "We're having a _baby!_"

"Very good, Sirius," Remus said dryly. "You get a gold star today. You know where babies come from!"

"Shut up, Moony," Sirius said good-naturedly, his lips brushing against the smoothness of Starr's cheek. "I'm going to be a _father_!"

"Lord help us all," Peter squeaked, raising his eyes heavenward.

"I'm going to be an uncle!" James said, sounding nearly as excited as he had when Lily had told him of her pregnancy.

"Starr, how long have you known?" Lily asked, smiling broadly at the raven haired girl. Starr shrugged.

"I just found out two days ago," she replied. "I figured tonight would be the perfect time to tell everyone."

"This is _awesome_, Nova," Remus grinned at her.

"Do you want to be godfather, Moony?" Sirius asked, grinning in a dog-like fashion at him.

"Hey!" James yelped in protest. "What about me?"

"You're already uncle," Starr retorted affectionately at her brother. "What more do you want?"

"Of course, Padfoot," Remus replied, grinning even wider, if at all possible. "Nothing could make me happier."

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"I can't believe _we're_ shopping for _their_ joint baby shower," James grunted, lifting several heavy bags over his shoulder. "How the ruddy hell are we supposed to know what they want for their party?"

"Well, you and Sirius are married to them," Peter pointed out. "Shouldn't you know that kind of stuff they like?"

"Shut up, Wormtail," Sirius snapped, glaring rather maliciously at several passersby who bumped into him.

"I'm just saying," Peter said, backing off and making a 'no harm, no foul' gesture.

"Stop complaining, would you?" Remus said. "You two are going to be fathers- do you honestly think it'll be easier when your kids are actually born?"

"Aaah!" Sirius screamed, dropping several shopping bags as he did so. A couple ripped apart upon impact with the ground and James bent down to help his best mate repair the bags and place their contents back in their proper places. "I'm not ready for fatherhood," he moped.

"Oh, and I am?" James snapped. "I still wear underwear with cute little Snitches on it!"

"You might not want to say that too loudly, mate," Remus advised him under his breath, as several people in the mall stopped to stare at him. "The two of you should just calm down. You'll be great fathers, especially with Lily and Starr to keep the two of you and check. And me."

"And me!" Peter added, not to be left out.

"I don't know about that, Wormtail," Remus said dryly. "You'll be fine. Trust me."

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"Thanks a lot for shopping for Lily and me," Starr said, giving Sirius and peck on the lips. She patted her stomach gently, smiling. "You know how hormonal pregnant women can get…"

"It's okay, Nova," he grinned. "It was frustrating, but totally worth it, since I know it was for you." She smiled at him and grabbed his hand, pressing it to her stomach.

"You'll be a great father, Sirius," she told him. "I just know it."

"Remus told you, eh?" he chuckled, sitting down on the couch next to her.

"All about it," she nodded. "He told me about how you and James moaned and groaned about having to shop for us… and he told me and Lily all about how the two of you had a minor breakdown about fatherhood."

"Erm, yeah. About that…" he said, scratching his head. "That was just sort of… something we both got over. It's just kind of hard to get used to the idea that I'm going to be partly responsible for raising a child, Nova. But, with you by my side, I'm sure I can handle anything."

She slapped him playfully across the arm. "Is it at all possible for you to be any more clichéd?"

"I don't know," he muttered, cupping her face gently in his hands. "Do you want me to try?"

"No, not really," she replied. "It's sweet, but you take it to a sickening point, Padfoot."

"Way to shoot a guy down, Starr," he said, sighing and pulling away from her. "The romantic mood has been killed."

"Don't be such a baby, Sirius," she giggled. "I'm just teasing you."

"You killed it," he teased, shaking his head at her. "You just killed it." A strange look crossed her face, which did not go unnoticed by Sirius. "Nova?" he asked, cocking his head at her in concern. He took her hand in his and kissed it, still peering up at her with his dark eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know," she stammered, screwing her eyes shut closed. "Something's not quite right."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the baby?"

"I don't know!" she replied shrilly, her voice rising hysterically in her panic. She suddenly felt lightheaded and she felt her consciousness fading. "Sirius…" And then her world went black as night.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Never have owned Harry, I don't own him now, and I never will. Thanks for all the reviews- they really make my day! Please read and review. Enjoy! Warning: very sad, teary chapter! **

Chapter 10

Sirius paced back and forth in the waiting room at St. Mungo's, biting his nails nervously as he muttered to himself under his breath. "Would you stop talking to yourself, Padfoot?" asked Remus, who looked a bit peaky (most likely due to the stress of Starr being in the hospital and the fact that the full moon was in three days). "It's creepy."

Sirius ignored him and continued to perambulate through the room, his mouth quickly forming words that were audible to no one but himself. Lily looked equally worried sitting on a chair in the corner. However, she busied herself by reading her copy of _All Quiet on the Western Front_. She bit her lip, hoping Starr would be fine.

James, meanwhile, was sitting on a chair next to the one occupied by his wife, hazel eyes blank and unfocused. It was almost as if he was dead to the world, too absorbed in his own worries about his younger sister to take notice of anything else. Peter was sitting next to Remus, watching all the Healers go by, squeaking in an excited manner whenever someone with a particularly interesting injury came in. A Healer approached Sirius, his eyes devoid of emotion- bad news. "Mr. Black?"

Sirius turned to him, his dark eyes filled with more worry and concern than a few moments ago, if that was at all possible. "What?" he asked, a slightly panicked tone to his voice. Starr was his world, Starr was his _life_. If anything happened to her…

"I'm afraid I have bad news," the Healer said, a synthesized brand of sympathy in his robotic voice.

"What is it?" Lily asked softly. She, James, Remus, and Peter had gathered around Sirius and the Healer, nervously awaiting the news he would give them.

"Starr Potter," the Healer said, not noticing Sirius winced when he used 'Potter' instead of 'Black' as her surname, "was pregnant, correct?"

"Yeah. My little sister's going to have a baby," James nodded. Confusion clouded his normally clear hazel eyes. "Wait- what do you mean by 'was pregnant'?"

The Healer sighed loudly, as if this was a boring task assigned to him by his superior- nothing more than a routine, meaningless chore. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news," he said, attempting (and failing) to sound sympathetic, "but your sister Starr had a miscarriage. I'm sorry."

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"Do you want someone to come in with you?" Lily asked, resting a comforting hand on Sirius's arm as he paused in front of Starr's hospital room. He glanced inside through the glass walls, where he could see Starr lying still on her bed, her eyes closed. He knew she was awake, despite her attempts at feigning sleep. The light reflected off of the wetness of her cheeks, and he knew she had been crying ever since she had heard.

"No," he whispered hoarsely. "I need to do this… alone. You all can see her afterwards."

"Of course, mate," James told him. "Go on." He gave his best mate a gently push forward, propelling him towards the door to the room.

Sirius came through the door, slowly making his way across the room to his wife. When he reached her bed, he gently took her hand in his and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles, whispering, "Starr?"

Her hazel eyes fluttered open, sparkling brightly with still unshed tears. She sat up weakly, burying her head in his chest as the dam of her tears erupted once more. He felt tears stream down his own face as he attempted to comfort her, his words getting caught in the back of his throat. "Shhh," he said. "Starr, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

She said nothing, but merely shook her head into his chest, as if to tell him that she knew that none of this was his fault. Nothing could've been done, and they both knew it. Nothing could've been done to save their baby.

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After what seemed an hour of silence filled only by the sounds of Starr and Sirius's sobs, Starr finally lifted her head, her hazel eyes wide and looked up at her husband. "Harry," she muttered under her breath, barely audibly.

"What's that?" he asked softly, tucking a lock of her raven-black hair behind her ear gently, tenderly. "I didn't quite catch that."

"Harry," she repeated, louder and more clearly this time. "Our baby would've been a boy… I just… I just knew it. I was going to name him Harry."

"That's a wonderful name, Starr," Sirius told her gently, meaning every word he said. "I'm sure it would've been fitting for our son. Harry Black. He would've been a Marauder in the making."

She flashed him a sad, watery smile, a few tears spilling over from her eyes. "I like to think that he wouldn't have become a player like you were before you dated me. But I'm sure he would've had your knack for pranks and… Maraudering."

He cocked his head at her in concern, his dark bangs falling into his eyes a bit. "Are you sure talking about… Harry won't make you… I don't know, depressed?"

She shrugged noncommittally, searching for the words to explain what she was feeling at the moment. "I think…" she said, pausing to word her thoughts, "that it'd be worse if I didn't talk about him at all. Because that would be like we were pretending that he never existed. But he did. He just… didn't make it."

He raised an eyebrow at her doubtfully. "I'll be okay… eventually," she reassured him. "It'll take me some time to not be grieving, and I highly doubt I'll ever get completely over it. But this is my coping strategy. Trust me, Padfoot. I'll be fine."

"Whatever you say, Starr," he told her, pressing a kiss to her lips softly. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Sirius. Promise you'll never leave me," she said, reaching up to touch his cheek with her hand.

He shivered at her touch, wondering how on earth he hadn't gotten used to it after knowing her since he was twelve. "Of course, Starr," he said quietly. "I thought that was a given."

"It is," she assured him, nodding her head. "But… I can't handle losing Harry and losing you, Sirius."

"You won't have to," he told her, running his fingers through strands of her silky black hair.

"Do you promise?" she asked softly, her lips only a few inches from his.

"I promise," he said firmly and pressed his lips to hers, sealing the deal.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue, and please do review! Thanks. Enjoy! I'm on a roll this week! Well, it is homecoming week at my high school, which generally means a lighter load of work. Yeah! **

Chapter 11

"It's so hot."

Lily Potter sat fanning herself on the deck of the restaurant, her pale cheeks flushed pink from the heat. She took a long gulp from her glass of lemonade, hoping it would cool her down a bit. She grimaced, adding, "It's not supposed to be this bloody hot in _London_. Even if it is July. It's actually almost August for Merlin's sake!"

Starr rolled her hazel eyes affectionately at her best friend. "Shut up, Lils," she advised. "You're ruining the mood here."

Lily frowned and muttered something about complaining if she wants to under her breath. Starr simply rolled her eyes yet again, knowing that pregnant women were known to be quite hormonal and moody. "How are you feeling, Starr?" Lily asked in concern, cocking her head of red hair at her friend.

"I'm okay," Starr shrugged, wincing at Lily's obvious reference to her miscarriage back in January. "I'm getting along okay. Sirius is a big help. And you and James and Remus and Peter, too, of course."

"And… how is Sirius dealing with all of this?" Lily questioned, again cocking her head at her.

Starr sighed loudly, wishing she wouldn't bring this up. "Same. We're getting through this together. But do we really have to discuss it?"

"Oh, sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "I was just wondering."

"It's okay, Lily," she said, waving her hand about. "You're my best friend. It's just kind of… still a touchy subject, you know?" Lily nodded in understanding.

"That makes perfect sense," she replied. "So… how are you and Sirius doing?"

Starr beamed at her. "Other than that, we're doing fine. I'm really glad we… er, eloped instead of waiting for the war to be over."

Lily returned her friend's grin wholeheartedly. "I'm sure you are," she said knowingly.

"What about you and James?"

"We're doing well, too, thanks."

"That's good." Starr watched as a strange look of pain crossed her friend's face. "Lils? What's wrong?"

Lily frowned and looked down at herself, her mouth dropping open as she did so. "Starr?" she said uncertainly, biting her lower lip.

"What is it?" she asked urgently, standing up to help Lily.

"I think m-my water broke."

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"Where is she?!"

James burst through the doors of the waiting room at St. Mungo's, black glasses askew and hazel eyes wide. "Where is she?!" he repeated, looking around the room frantically. Several people in the waiting room looked alarmed at his appearance.

Luckily, Starr quickly spotted her panicking brother and hurried over to him. "Breathe, James," she advise him, linking her arm in his and leading him down the hall. "Lil's in a room down this hall; she's doing just fine."

"The baby hasn't been born yet, has it?" he asked nervously as they walked down the hall together.

"No," Starr shook her head.

James heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. Lily would absolutely kill me if I missed our first child being born."

Starr chuckled. "Right you are." She led him into a room at the very end of the hall. Inside, a weary-looking Lily was lying on a hospital bed, sweating and panting for breath.

"Lily!" James pulled himself from his sister's grasp and rushed to his wife's side. He brought her sweaty hand to his mouth and kissed it sweetly. "How are you?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "I'm getting on okay," she said. "The contractions are the only things that really hurt." She suddenly whimpered and screwed up her face in pain, tightly shutting her eyes.

"What's wrong?" James asked in concern.

"Another contractions," Starr told him gently. She looked at the chart at the end of Lily's bed. "I think she's about ready to give birth. I'll go get a Healer."

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"Boy or girl, Remus?"

Sirius, Starr, Peter, and Remus were sitting in the waiting room, excitedly awaiting the birth of the baby Potter. Remus considered for a moment, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Boy," he said finally, looking rather pleased with his decision.

"I say girl," Sirius challenged, raising a black eyebrow at his friend. "Willing to bet on it, Moony?"

"Wicked," he agreed, nodding his head of sandy brown hair. "Ten Galleons."

"You're on." They spit into their hands and shook each other's, sealing the deal. Starr shook her head, wondering how she was going to handle the three Marauders if Lily and James's baby didn't hurry up and get born. She paged through the magazine she had taken from the rack in the waiting room, pausing only when a title caught her eye.

"Starr?" Sirius whispered softly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. His hot breath tickled her lobe and she resisted the urge to giggle loudly.

"Yes?" she questioned, turning to face him. He had a familiar mischievous smile playing on his lips and she could only wonder what he was thinking…

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, one of his hands reaching up to cup her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. Her hazel eyes fluttered closed and she forgot about everything except for him, and this kiss…

She pulled away and leaned into him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Her hot breath blossomed against his skin, sending shivers of pleasure up and down his spine. Her lips brushed against his skin, as she nipped a bit at it, coaxing a barely audible moan from his lips.

"Ahem."

A loud cough caused them to spring apart. James was standing there, a bemused smile playing on his lips as he took in the sight of his sister and his best mate. "I hope I'm not interrupting something," he said, smirking at the pair of them.

"Oh, shut up, Prongs," Sirius groaned, rolling his dark eyes at him. "What's the news?"

James beamed, the entirety of his extremely handsome face lighting up as he did so. It was a genuine smile, the corners of his eyes wrinkling jovially. "The baby's been born," he said. "It's a boy!"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I've been busy. Don't own, don't sue. Please read and review. Enjoy. **

Chapter 12

"He looks just like James."

Starr held her nephew in her arms for the first time, smiling down at the gurgling baby boy. He had a single tuft of jet black hair sticking up from his head and his emerald green eyes blinked at her intelligently, almost as if he could understand her. "Except he has your eyes, Lils."

Lily beamed, nodding her head of red hair. James kissed the sweaty head of his wife, muttering some praise quietly into her ear. "He's beautiful," she murmured. She turned to face James. "Because he's ours."

"I wish we had a baby," Starr murmured quietly under her breath, pressing a soft kiss to her nephew's forehead. The baby gurgled happily. Sirius smiled and wrapped his arms around Starr's waist, drawing her to him so he could get a peek at the baby as well.

"One day, Starr," he promised her, kissing her black hair lovingly. "One day."

James smiled sadly at them, almost as if he was silently trying to apologize for their loss. Remus cleared his throat in the awkward silence. "Sirius," he said, "I believe you owe me ten Galleons." He turned to James and Lily. "You two are sure it's a _boy_, right?"

"You two were betting on the sex of our child?" Lily gasped, her mouth forming a surprised 'o'.

"Sirius thought it was going to be a girl," Peter supplied, not to be left out.

"Please tell me that doesn't actually surprise you, Lils," Starr laughed, rocking the baby back and forth in her arms.

"Of course not," Lily chuckled. "That doesn't surprise me one bit."

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"What are you going to name him?"

Starr and Sirius looked on as Lily held her baby in her arms, cooing at him lovingly. Her red hair fell across her face and into his as she murmured comfortingly to him. James stood at her bedside, one hand resting gently atop his son's head, the other absentmindedly stroking his wife's hair. "Actually, we were thinking of…"

Lily's voice trailed off uncertainly as she glanced up at James. He smiled at her reassuringly. He then turned to his sister and best mate, saying, "We want to name him Harry."

Sirius looked pleasantly surprised, his mouth dropping open slightly and his dark eyes widening. James grinned broadly back at him and looked at his sister. Her hazel eyes had filled with tears as she stood from where she was sitting and crossed the room, throwing herself at her brother in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her in turn as she buried her face in his chest, sobbing loudly. She finally pulled away after a few moments, tears still streaming down her face. "Lily… James…" she gasped, fighting for her breath through her tears. "This is the best thing you two have ever done for me."

"You can choose his middle name, if you want," Lily told her, smiling.

Starr looked thoughtful, her hazel eyes half-closed as she contemplated her options. Finally, she sucked in a sharp breath and said, "James. His middle name should be James."

"Harry James Potter," Sirius muttered, standing up to take his place by his wife. "That has a nice ring to it, don't you think, Prongs?"

"Definitely," he nodded, placing a brotherly kiss on Starr's forehead. He turned to Sirius. "Padfoot… would you be his godfather? There's no one else Lily and I trust more… well, except for Starr, but she's already his aunt."

"And I'm already his uncle," Sirius pointed out.

"Not… in paperwork," Lily said hesitantly.

His face fell, a devastated look crossing his handsome features for a moment. Then it was gone. "Of course I'll be his godfather."

"Thank you," James said, closing his eyes in relief behind his glasses. He pulled his best mate in for a man-hug. "Thank you."

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"Sirius?"

Sirius turned to find Starr walk into the living room, pulling her long hair back into a ponytail. She sat on the couch next to him, her body leaning against his heavily. "What's up, my lovely Starr?"

"H-how did James and Lily know that I was going to name our baby Harry?" she asked, biting her lip as she looked up at him with clear hazel eyes.

"I told them," he admitted. "It was about a week after the miscarriage. You and Lily were having a girls' night out, so James and I were eating Chinese take-out and chocolate milk at their place."

"Chinese take-out and chocolate milk?" Starr asked incredulously, wrinkling her nose. "Bloody hell, you two are weird."

He shrugged off her comment and continued. "We got to talking about how you and I were dealing with the miscarriage… and it all just sort of slipped out. About how we were going to name him Harry and how… that was your coping strategy. James didn't, however, tell me that he and Lily wanted to name their son that." He looked down at her, cocking his head in concern. "Th-that doesn't upset you… does it?"

"No, not at all," she told him firmly, shaking her head. She wiped a tear from her eye and added, "I know I cried, but… it's just about the sweetest thing my brother and my best friend could've ever done for me. I'm so damn lucky to have them. And you, of course."

He smiled and pressed his lips to her, his warm hand resting on her cheek. He gently hauled her onto his lap, his tongue flicking across the seam of her lips. She obliged, parting her mouth and moaning as his tongue clashed with hers. Her hands made their way into his dark hair, her fingers lightly scratching his scalp.

He let out a primal moan, one hand wandering from her back to her waist. Her legs locked around his waist, pulling him flush against her. He pulled away, wrapping both his strong arms around her in a tight hug. "I love you, Starr."

His hot breath blossomed against the skin of her neck as his lips brushed her skin. "I love you, too, Sirius," she murmured back, pulling away to look at him. "What would I do without you?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged and said, "I don't know. What would you do without me?"

She grimaced, her hazel eyes looking downcast. "Crawl into bed and wait to die."

"That's not funny, Starr," he frowned, brushing a lock of her black hair away from her face. He tucked it behind her ear, saying, "That's not the strong girl I know and love."

"I'm serious," she insisted, hoping he would resist the temptation to make the classic pun. "Without you, my only joy in life would be… ice cream."

"Ice cream," he said, raising his dark brows at her. "Ice cream."

"Hmmm," she nodded in agreement.

"Ice cream would replace me in your life?" he asked, looking devastated.

"Don't be stupid, Pads," she reprimanded, slapping him playfully on the arm. "Ice cream makes me happy, but not nearly as happy as you make me."

"That's either the weirdest or the most romantic thing any girl has ever said to me," he told her, smiling broadly.

"Of course it is."

"Would you really crawl into a bed and wait to die if I died?" he asked, looking worried.

She nodded. "_You_ are my life, Sirius."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for all the reviews and please keep it up. Enjoy! **

Chapter 13

"We really ought to do this more often."

James and Lily had decided to drop by at the Weasleys' house; Molly and Arthur had been a few years ahead of them in school and had been quite good friends. "I've missed you," Molly said sappily, flashing James and Lily watery smiles.

"Same here, Molly," Lily replied. "Arthur is right- we should do this more often."

A year had gone by quickly- Harry had celebrated his first birthday just yesterday. James glanced over at his one year old son and smiled. Harry was playing with the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, whose head of bright red hair clashed brilliantly with Harry's dark locks. "They get along so well," he murmured under his breath, wrapping his arms around Lily's waist and pulling her against him.

"They sure do," Arthur nodded in agreement. "I'm willing to bet you almost anything that they'll be the best of friends when they get to Hogwarts."

" 'Bet'?"

A three year old redhead toddled into the room, a joyous look of mischief plastered over his face. "George," Molly sighed, "go back to playing with Fred. And don't tackle Percy and shove crayons up his crack again!"

"'Kay, Mummy," George chortled, toddling out of the room.

"Our twins, Fred and George," Arthur explained. "They're quite mischievous."

"I see," James grinned. "Not quite as mischievous as the Marauders though, eh?"

"I don't know about that, James," Molly smiled. "When they make it to Hogwarts I'm sure they could give you, Remus, Sirius, and Peter a run for your money."

"I'd like to see that," Lily said, grinning broadly up at her husband. James chuckled and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

"How are Sirius and Starr?"

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"Sirius, I hope you know what you're doing."

"Please. When have I not?"

"The time you tried to hex Snivellus in the Great Hall and instead turned my hair pink for a week?"

"Not the point. Other than that?"

"The time you ran into a tree on your broomstick because you saw something shiny in the Quidditch stands during the _championship game_?"

"Two times. It means nothing, Nova."

"The time you-"

"Okay, okay- just stop there." Sirius grinned at his wife, who was currently blindfolded and clinging to his hand for dear life. He had told her that he had a surprise for her and was now leading her towards it.

"Are we in… an elevator?"

Sirius grimaced. She wasn't supposed to be able to tell where they were going- it would ruin everything. They were indeed in an elevator, but instead of answering he merely pressed a finger gently to her lips and said, "Shhhh."

She huffed loudly and he was sure that if she hadn't been blindfolded, she would've rolled her beautiful hazel eyes at him. The elevator dinged as they reached the top floor. "We _are _in an elevator."

He didn't reply, merely grasped her hand tightly in his and pulled her through the opening elevator doors. There was a small hallway just outside the elevator and a small door at the end of it. _This must be it_, Sirius thought. He fumbled a bit with the room key and opened the door, revealing the elegantly decorated, spacious room behind it. "Okay," he said, untying the blindfold at the back of her head and pulling it off with a flourish. "Surprise!"

"Sirius," she said, clapping a hand to her mouth. Her lower jaw had dropped and her clear hazel eyes had filled with tears as she took in the room in front of her. "What is this?"

"This is the penthouse suite in the largest, newest, most gorgeous hotel in all of Las Vegas," he replied, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "James told it's always been a dream of yours to go to America. With the war going on and all, I just wanted to make sure it actually came true."

"Thank you," she said, turning to face him and bury her face in his chest. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm actually _crying_."

He chuckled, the deepness of his laugh vibrating both of their forms. "We have it for the weekend," he told her. "I figured it'd be a nice little break from the world for us. You know, just you and me."

"Sirius," she gasped. "This is perfect. You are utterly _amazing_."

"I know," he said, smiling down at her. A mischievous glint shone in his dark eyes.

"I know that look," she told him, grinning up at him. "Sirius, I know you better than you think. What do you have in mind?"

"I think you know," he whispered seductively, pressing his lips to her in a soft kiss as he kicked the door closed behind him and starting leading her towards the bed. "I think you know _exactly_ what I have in mind."

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Glasses of firewhiskey clinked throughout the room as Arthur, Molly, Lily, and James toasted to each other, the Order of the Phoenix, and their health and safety. James took a deep swig of his glass and smiled, relishing the warm, tingly feeling that was now rushing down his throat. "This has been an awesome day," Lily said.

"Agreed," Molly nodded, grinning broadly. "I think I've forgotten about everything today. No worries, no cares."

Without warning, a knock suddenly sounded at the front door. "It's Albus."

"Well, it was nice while it lasted," James grimaced. Molly opened the door and let Dumbledore in, who approached them solemnly.

There was something wrong. Lily could feel it. Dumbledore's usually twinkling blue eyes were somber and unsmiling, a grim expression plastered on his face, seemingly permanently. "What's the matter, sir?" Lily asked, her own voice sounding shaky to her in her fear.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news," Dumbledore said gravely. He looked hesitantly at Arthur and Molly. "I don't mean to kick you out of your own home, but this only pertains to the Potters, I'm afraid."

"Ah," Molly said quietly. "I see."

She stood and pulled her husband out of the room behind her, closing the door behind them. "What's wrong, Professor?" James asked, snaking an arm around Lily's waist instinctively in a protective manner.

Dumbledore took a seat at the table, observing them gravely behind his spectacles. After what seemed an eternity of uncomfortable and suspenseful silence, he finally spoke. "I'm afraid the two of you and your son have to go into hiding. Voldemort is hunting you down."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for all the reviews and please keep it up! Yes, the story is going downhill from here. Sorry. : ( On a happier note, please check out my new fic, "Marauder Number Five"! Enjoy. **

Chapter 14

Numb.

That was the only word in the entirety of Miriam-Webster's latest dictionary to describe how James was feeling at the moment. Numb. Deprived of the power of sensation. Numb. Unfeeling. Numb. Emotionless, empty void. Numb.

His life was in danger; he was quite used to that. But now the stakes were much higher. His _wife_, his beloved Lily Potter, was in danger. His son, his young, energetic one-year old Harry, was in danger. And the only thing he could do to protect them was to hide. He hated it. He hated this feeling of helplessness, of uselessness, of idleness. Only Lily's voice was able to snap him back to reality. "James," she said. Her face held the expression of a woman whose life was crumbling before her eyes, whose family was in danger, but was trying to be strong, for the sake of those she loved. Merlin, he loved her. Her green eyes probed his hazel ones intently, her bottom lip quivering, but only barely. "We have to tell Sirius and Starr."

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"Sit down."

Sirius had been a bit disgruntled when an owl had soared unexpectedly through the penthouse window, interrupting his "alone time" with Starr. But as soon as he had read the urgent message from his best mate, a frown had replaced his scowl. "Starr," he had said. "I think we need to leave."

It was the voice of his best mate that snapped him back to the present now, as James gently led Sirius and Starr over to the couch. They obediently sat down and he took Starr's hand in his, squeezing it in reassurance. "While we were at the Burrow, Dumbledore came," James said, his hazel eyes half-closed as he tried to maintain his composure. He would not break down. He would not break down. He refused to break down in front of his wife, his son, his sister, his best mate… he refused.

"And?" Starr urged him on, feeling her mouth go dry in suspense. "What did he have to say?"

"He said that Lily, Harry, and I need to go into hiding," he replied, his voice cracking on the last word. "Voldemort is looking for us."

The dreaded stunned silence filled the room, enveloping the four adults and baby Harry in an uncomfortable bubble. Time seemed to freeze as everyone held their breaths, almost as if waiting to awaken from what was merely a bad dream…

It was Starr who eventually broke the silence, asking, "But… why?"

Lily shrugged, her small frame trembling as she said, "Dumbledore refused to tell us. He said our ignorance was necessary in order to further promote our safety."

"He's off his rocker, that man," Sirius muttered under his breath. "So… how are you going to go into hiding?" He tried to make it sound casual, nonchalant, almost as if this was something they discussed daily. All he succeeded in doing was making the whole conversation seem unnatural and fake. He grimaced.

"The Fidelius Charm," James replied. "I'll let Lils explain; she was always much better at casting charms than I was."

She flashed him a small smile, which was quickly replaced by a somber expression. "Right," she said, tucking a lock of her red hair behind her ear. "The Fidelius Charm is a charm that involves the concealment of a secret inside a person, who is called the Secret Keeper. For example, if James was Secret Keeper and the secret was that I have eleven toes, no one would be able to know that I had eleven toes unless James told them- it would be impossible. Even if he or she were to take off both my shoes and count the toes they could see or feel, it would be simply _impossible_ for them to see an eleventh toe unless James told them so."

"_Do_ you have eleven toes?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"No," Lily replied patiently. "And that's not the point. We've already got someone to cast the charm- me. If the caster of the charm dies, the charm will cease to work. This way, if I die, James and Harry would probably be… d-dead as well, and there'd be no need for the charm to work anyway."

"Right," James said, looking at Sirius and Starr. "Like Lily said, we've got someone to cast the charm. But we still need a Secret Keeper."

"I'll do it," Sirius said, piping up. He had a determined glint in his dark eyes; there was no talking him out of this one. "I'll do it."

"Sirius, there's no one we trust more with our lives; trust is not the issue," James said, spreading his hands out in front of him as he attempted to explain. "But you've got a family. You've got Starr. We wouldn't want you to risk your life and Starr's happiness just for us."

"Excuse me," Starr said indignantly, jumping up from the couch, a fisted hand on her jutted hip. "I will not be treated like a helpless damsel in distress whose husband can't even stand on his own."

"That's n-not what I meant," James said, throwing his hands up defensively and making a 'no harm, no foul' gesture hastily.

"Sirius is strong and so am I," she said firmly. "Sirius would be a brilliant Secret Keeper- he's your best mate! James, I know you didn't mean what it sounded like, but who else would you honestly rather make Secret Keeper? Remus? He's got enough to worry about with his 'furry little problem', he doesn't need to worry about keeping your location a secret, too. Peter? Peter's a good friend, yes, but he's not very confident. He was always the first to give in to peer pressure, no matter who it was from."

"Starr makes a brilliant point," Lily said. "I say we make Sirius Secret Keeper."

"And I agree," James said, nodding his head. "Let's do this."

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It was done. Sirius was now Secret Keeper. The Potters were in their house, safely hidden in Godric's Hollow. Sirius wrote on a miniscule piece of parchment the following message:

_The Potters are hidden at 13 Ignotus Way, Godric's Hollow_.

He handed it to Starr, who read it and looked up, seeing the Potter's house for the first time. She grinned at him before pointing her wand at the note, which burst into flame and disappeared. The couple looked around the empty street, making sure no one was watching before making their way up the front door and entering. "Did it work?" Lily asked eagerly, coming up to them, an anxious look in her green eyes.

"Yes," Starr nodded. "I had no idea it was there until Sirius handed me the note."

"Note?" Lily asked, frowning. "You did… destroy the note, right?"

"Of course," Starr nodded. "No one will ever read it but me."

"Good," she replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "You can never be too careful."

An idea suddenly struck Starr, an idea so brilliant and so obvious to her, that she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. "Speaking of never being to careful…" she said slowly, "I've just thought up another brilliant precaution."

"What?" James asked, coming into the room. "If you thought of it, Starr, I'm sure no Death Eater will be able to find us. Ever."

She grinned broadly at him, as Lily, James, and Sirius waited in suspense for her response. She said slyly, "Why don't you have a Secret Keeper to keep the secret of your Secret Keeper?"


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. There are going to be twenty chapters, so after this one, there are five more. Sorry! Read and review please. Enjoy. **

Chapter 15

"Explain," Lily demanded as she pulled Starr over to the couch and forced her to take a seat.

"Well, anyone could let slip that Sirius is Secret Keeper," Starr explained. "Then his life will be in danger. If you make me Secret Keeper and the secret is that Sirius is your Secret Keeper, you'll be doubly protected."

"That's a _bloody brilliant_ idea, Starr," James praised her, placing a brotherly kiss on her forehead. "I always knew we were related."

"Other than the fact that she looks just like you?" Sirius snorted. After receiving a glare from Starr, he hastily added, "Except she's much prettier. You climbed out of the wrong end of the gene pool, Prongs."

James scowled at his friend before asking, "So… who are we going to make Secret Keeper for our Secret Keeper?"

Lily and Starr exchanged withering glances. "I thought that was obvious," Lily muttered, shaking her head mournfully.

"Me," Starr told him firmly.

"No," James protested, anger creeping into his voice. Starr stood from her spot on the couch, and though she only came up to her elder brother's shoulder, she looked just as, if not, more, intimidating than him. "Starr, no."

"James, yes," she countered. "We can play this game all day, bro. But I think we both know where it's going to end."

"With you going home to enjoy your safe, happy life with Sirius and visiting us occasionally?"

"No. With you making me a second Secret Keeper."

"I will not put your life in danger, Starr."

"I'm an Auror! I'm already in danger!"

"This will just make it worse."

"I can take care of myself, James. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do. I've known you since your birth. But I don't want you to be in any more danger than necessary."

Lily and Sirius glanced back and forth between the siblings, watching their heated argument like a professional tennis match. They exchanged glances, wondering who would win.

"Mum and Dad would want me to do it."

As Starr quietly finished her sentence, she knew she had him. There was no way he could argue with that. James stared mournfully at her from behind his glasses, and she stared back, equal remorse and grief in her matching hazel eyes. "All right," he assented quietly, closing his eyes. "You win, Starr."

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"James, I'm sorry."

After Lily cast the Fidelius Charm once more and made her Secret Keeper, Starr found her brother sitting alone in his bedroom, sitting on the bed, his back facing the door. "I shouldn't have said that," she whispered, sitting next to her brother.

"I know."

"But I was right," she added gently, hoping he wouldn't get mad at her. She absolutely hated fighting with her brother, especially since their parents died. He was her only family left.

"I know."

"Then…w-why?" she stuttered, unable to complete and coherent sentence. She swallowed, fighting back her tears.

"I'm just… worried," he replied meekly, finally turning to face her. His hazel eyes and his handsome features conveyed such remorse, such concern that she was unable to stop a few tears from falling from her hazel eyes. He wrapped her in a hug, saying, "Please don't cry, Nova."

She shook her head in response. "I'm worried about Lily. I'm worried about Harry. I'm worried about Sirius. And now I'm worried about you. That's all. I don't want any Death Eaters coming after my baby sister."

"That's already happened before, James," she pointing out, cheering a bit.

"Yeah," he admitted. "But that's when I was there to protect you. Now… all I can do is hide."

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"Promise me something?"

Sirius and Starr were sitting in their comfortable living room. Sirius was seated on the couch, with his wife on his lap, leaning back against him while his hand absentmindedly stroked her black hair. "Anything," he agreed hoarsely. "Whatever you want."

"Both of our lives are in danger," she said. "That's what this war has done to us, Padfoot."

"I'm well aware of that, thanks," he said, laughing mirthlessly.

"Promise me that if I die… you'll keep living for as long as possible. That you won't give up. That you won't commit suicide. That you'll _keep going_," she replied, staring up at him with clear hazel eyes, begging, pleading.

He didn't reply for a moment, mulling it over in his mind. He opened his mouth to reply and said, "Only if you promise me the same thing."

She flashed him a watery smile. "Then I promise."

"I promise," he countered. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Even though you _are_ my life and without you, I'd want to die."

"No," she said, shaking her head firmly. "You just promised me. And a Marauder never breaks his promises, am I right?"

He chuckled, pressing a loving kiss to her forehead. "You're right," he told her. "Naturally."

"Aw," she said. "Aren't you getting good at kissing my arse?"

"I've had practice," he shrugged, grinning broadly at her. Then his expression grew somber, seriousness in his dark eyes. "I love you more than anything in the world, Starr."

"I'd tell you the same, but it wouldn't be true," she countered. "I love you more than anything in the _universe_."

He clucked his tongue and shook his head at her. "So clichéd!"

She shrugged. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

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A dark hooded figure met the shadowy form of Severus Snape in an empty cemetery. "Where is she?" demanded the hooded figure in a his, her hood still shadowing her face.

"Relax," Snape told her firmly. "I don't know where she is now."

"You son of a bitch!"

"Shut the hell up. I know where she'll be tomorrow. Her husband needs to remove some objects from his childhood home; his brother Regulus died recently. Tried to get rid of his Dark Mark; he was killed by Death Eaters."

"Where will she be?"

"12 Grimmauld Place."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Actual author's note at end of chapter. **

Chapter 16

"Let me get this straight."

Starr allowed Sirius to lead her in through the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place. She wrinkled her nose in distaste as her hazel eyes swept about the residence, taking the Blacks' strange sense of style. "You grew up here?" she asked, grimacing.

"Unfortunately," he replied.

"No wonder you ran away," she said, shaking her head. She repeated, "Let me get this straight. Your brother Regulus, the Death Eater, died and you're the only Black left alive. So you're here to pick up a few important items before hopefully never seeing this grim, old place again?"

"You got it," Sirius affirmed, leading her up to Regulus' old room. "Do you mind staying in here? I have to clean out my old room and I wouldn't want to lose you in there- it's an absolute mess."

"It's fine," she chuckled, flopping down onto her dead brother-in-law's bed. "I'm fine right here."

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Starr made a quick trip to the bathroom, making sure to bring a Muggle pregnancy test along with her. "Sometimes, Muggles just do things the easy way," she muttered to herself as she closed the door.

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Positive.

It was positive. Starr gaped at the test in her shaking hand, hardly daring to believe it. She kept blinking her hazel eyes forcefully, as if she thought it would disappear if she did so. Positive. She was pregnant. She slumped down onto the bathroom floor, tears of joy sliding out of her eyes and pouring down her cheeks. This was exactly what they had prayed for. A second chance at parenthood. And now they had it.

Positive. At that moment, she was almost sure that there was no word more beautiful than positive in the entire English language.

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She couldn't wait to tell Sirius; he was going to be absolutely thrilled. They were going to have another shot. She was hardly able to contain herself, sitting on the edge of Regulus's bed, her legs crossed, her right foot shaking almost uncontrollably, as if on a massive sugar high. Sirius entered the room, looking a bit disgruntled. "Starr," he said, taking her hands in his. "I need to go to Diagon Alley, to pick up some supplies for a cleaning potion. Do you mind waiting here for me?"

"No, not at all, Sirius," she replied, shaking her head of black hair. She was unable to keep herself from smiling as she added, "But there's something you should know."

"Please, Starr," he begged, forcing a smile. "I'm not in the best of moods right now; I'm frustrated with my room and this cleaning potion… is going to frustrate me a whole hell of a lot more. Can you just tell me when I come back?"

She bit her lip, mulling over his proposal. "That's fine," she replied quietly. "It can wait." It could wait. After all, what could happen while he was in Diagon Alley for an hour and a half, two hours at the most?

"Thanks," he said, squeezing her hands tightly and kissing her cheek. He stood to leave, but stopped when Starr called him.

"Sirius."

A sudden fear gripped her, clawing at her stomach and spine, as unrelenting and unforgiving as the Cruciactus Curse. She stood and made her way to him, cupping his face with her hands. She pressed her lips to his in a slow, famished kiss. She pulled away and, panting heavily, breathed, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said softly, his thumb trailing down her cheek. "For always and eternity." He gave her a wide smile and turned on his heel, heading down the stairs to leave. She heard him give the ancient house elf, Kreacher, directions to let no one but him inside the house. And then he was gone.

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Starr anxiously awaited Sirius's return, and soon busied herself with searching through Regulus's old belongings. "Junk… junk… junk…" she muttered to herself, tossing odd bits of parchment into the corner and pushing useless possessions aside. "What's this…?"

She picked up a heavy gold locket, an 'S' showing on the front. She bit her lip, trying to pry it open, but failed miserably. Holding it up to the light to appraise it, she said, "Hmmm. This is definitely worth a lot."

Sighing heavily, she headed down the stairs to stow it away in the one of the random kitchen cabinets. She knew Sirius wouldn't want it, since it belonged to his brother, but she could hazard an educated guess at what the 'S' stood for. Selwyn. Blood traitor though she might be, she wouldn't want a piece of wizarding history to be thrown away nor would she want such a foul symbol of 'toujurs purs' to be put on display. Yes, the kitchen cabinet would be the perfect hiding place. She tucked it inside and pushed it towards the back of the cabinet, ignoring Kreacher as he walked by, muttering something about 'blood traitor'. She snorted to herself, knowing that he was definitely talking about her.

She yawned suddenly as she closed the cabinet door and headed back up the stairs, perhaps to take a nap. She quickly scrawled a note to Lily, telling her of the positive pregnancy test. She then crawled into bed and fell deep asleep.

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As Starr lay deep asleep in Regulus's bed, the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place unexpectedly flew open. "Miss Bella," Kreacher greeted the woman, bowing and grinning toothily. "What can Kreacher do for you?"

Bellatrix smiled down at the house elf. "Is there anyone in the house other than you, Kreacher?"

"Yes, Miss Bella," he nodded. "Kreacher is not alone."

"Really?" Bellatrix said, feigning surprise. "Kreacher, may come in to… make sure your guest is suitable?"

"Kreacher is sure, of course, that she is quite _unsuitable_ to stay in this noble house of Black," Kreacher replied, disgusted. He then sighed. "But Master Sirius gave Kreacher orders. Kreacher is not to let anyone in the house but Master Sirius. Kreacher is sorry."

"Kreacher," Bellatrix said gently, fighting to hold on to her last thread of patience, "am I not a Black just as much as _Master_ Sirius?"

The elderly house elf looked thoughtful for a moment, then stepped aside to let Bellatrix in. "Thank you, Kreacher."

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"Ah," Bellatrix clucked, looking at the sleeping body of Starr Black. "She'll die in her sleep. So peaceful." She chuckled under her breath maniacally. "_Avada Kedavra!_"

A flash of green light shone in the darkness of the room for a moment, then faded. Bellatrix Disapparated with a snap, leaving the dead form of Starr Emma Potter-Black in the room behind her.

**A/N: I know… you all hate me now. Trust me, I hate myself, too. Please keep reading though. The next couple of chapters are sad, but the last one and the epilogue are relatively happy, I promise.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. I know you all hate me after the last chapter and I don't blame you, but thanks for staying loyal! Read and review please! Enjoy.**

Chapter 17

"Starr?" Sirius called as he stepped through the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place, a bag full of potions ingredients cradled in his arms. "Probably fell asleep," he muttered to himself. "She was always a deep sleeper."

He kicked the front door shut behind him, setting the bag down on a random table and heading up the stairs. The seventh step creaked as he stepped on it, and he cursed under his breath, not wanting to wake anything up. "This house is damn _creepy_," he murmured, shaking his head at himself. He found the door to Regulus's room closed and he knocked softly, calling, "Starr?"

No reply came. He frowned to himself, beginning to worry. It wasn't like to Starr to sleep through a knock at her door and his voice. He quietly turned the knob and threw open the door.

He knew something was wrong when she didn't jerk awake at all the light pouring into the dark bedroom. He knelt by the bed, gently shaking her. "Starr? Starr?"

He rested his head on her chest for a moment before lifting it, horrified. She was dead.

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The room was deadly silent as the news sunk in.

"D-dead?" Lily's quivering voice rang out in the silence, a few tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

Sirius stared numbly back at her, a few tears sparkling in his dark eyes. He wished he was dead. The world felt so… empty, so… desolate without her in it. She was gone. Forever.

James ran from the room, his hand flying to his mouth as he fled. He ran into the bathroom and Sirius and Lily could hear the sounds of his retching through the open door. Lily stood and followed her husband, patting his back comfortingly. James looked up, done vomiting, tears pouring down his handsome face in torrents. "It'll be okay, James…"

"No, it won't," he croaked, throwing himself at his wife. Her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug as his body continued to shake with the force of his sobs. "Starr's dead, Lily… my little sister's dead!"

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"Lily, James… I need to talk to you."

Sirius stood in front of the Potters shortly after the small, quiet ceremony they had for Starr's burial. "Go ahead, Padfoot," James told him quietly, a mournful expression seemingly permanently etched on his handsome face.

"I can't be your Secret Keeper any more," Sirius replied, holding up his hand as they started to protest. "Starr's dead; now anyone who knows can tell any one that I'm your Secret Keeper. Your best bet is to change your Secret Keeper."

"But… who? Moony's gone undercover…" Lily said, looking uncertain as she tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear.

"Wormtail," Sirius replied. "He's not the strongest lad around, but he's loyal and true."

"Sirius, I don't know," James replied, running a hand through his black hair anxiously. "There's no one we trust as much as you…"

"Please," Sirius said, now begging. "Being Secret Keeper brings back memories that I really don't need… please…"

James took one look at the expression on his best mate's face and he immediately knew that there was no way he could refuse his request. "All right."

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Sirius got out of 12 Grimmauld Place as fast as he could. "Is that all the stuff you needed, Sirius?" Lily asked, setting the box of junk down on the floor.

"I think so," he nodded. "Even if it's not, no way in hell am I going back in there. I _hate_ that place, and I _hate_ that house-elf."

"You've always hated this place," she pointed, enjoying her chance to be outdoors. James had decided it was safe enough for her to leave the house to help Sirius with his belongings as long as she drank Polyjuice Potion beforehand (she had taken the form of Alice Longbottom) and they were back within an hour.

"It was tolerable," he muttered. "But this is where… where she died. And that bloody good-for-nothing elf let my bitch of a cousin into the house to kill her. I _never_ want to see this place again."

Lily flashed him an understanding glance and the image of the letter Starr had hastily written to her just before her death popped up in her mind. She sucked in a deep breath of preparation. "Sirius? There's something you should know."

"What is it?" he asked, cocking his head of dark hair at her. "Silly Lily, what's wrong?"

"Starr sent me a quick owl shortly before Bellatrix killed her," she replied quickly, as if the faster she said it, the less pain it would cause. She rummaged around in her pocket for the folded letter. When she found it, she extracted it from her pocket and unfolded it, smoothing it out as best she could with the palm of her hand. She bit her lip and handed it to him.

He took it from her gingerly, as if afraid it would rip if he wasn't careful. He held it almost as if it were sacred: it was one of the last things his wife ever touched. His dark eyes scanned the page as he read the words she had written. "She was… she was…" he said, panting for his breath.

"She was pregnant, yes," Lily said, a few tears sliding down her pale cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Sirius. I didn't know whether or not I should tell you… but I figured you had the right to know."

A few tears escaped from his eyes as he pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you, Lily," he said. "Thanks for caring."

She laughed mirthlessly through her tears. "What are friends for, eh?" She pulled away, looking up at him uncertainly with her striking emerald green eyes. "D-do you think we should tell James?"

Sirius bit his lip. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Just… give it time, Silly Lily. We'll figure it out eventually."

She nodded, a few of her tears splashing down onto the sidewalk. "I miss her so much, Sirius. She was my best friend… and now she's gone."

"I know, Lils," he said. "She was the only girl I ever loved. She was my_ wife_. I'm just… I'm lost without her."

"You know, I always thought you'd give up if she died," Lily said. "But you've just kept on going."

"I promised her I would," Sirius replied. "And I'm not going to break a promise, especially not one that I made to my Starr."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey, sorry it's been so long, but mid terms are keeping me busy! Don't own, don't sue. Please leave a review. This is a sad chappie… but enjoy anyway! **

Chapter 19

Harry laughed like his mother and looked like his dad.

Most people wouldn't find this unusual or out of the ordinary, but to Sirius, as he cradled the one year old Harry in his arms, these two facts were simply _extraordinary_. As baby Harry gurgled in his arms, he wondered how in the world he had been thrown into this position…

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It had started off as a normal enough day. Well, normal enough compared to the other days since Starr's death. He had woken up at around seven that morning and had laid in bed for nearly an hour staring at the picture Lily had taken of him with Starr shortly after they eloped. He had then eaten breakfast and proceeded to Apparate to Godric's Hollow to visit Lily and James. He was forced to leave their home around four that afternoon to take care of some Order business. Now… he was here. And his worst fears had become reality.

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"He's going to be a Quidditch player when he grows up."

"James," Lily sighed heavily, shutting the book which she had been reading for the past hour or so. She looked at her husband as he watched Harry giggling happily as he zoomed through their house on a small toy broomstick, which had been a present for his first birthday in July.

"What?" he asked, raising his black brows at her. "Just look at him! Isn't it obvious?"

"If you say so," she sighed. She glanced quickly at the calendar which hung on the wall. "I can't believe it's Halloween."

"It's October 31," James replied, draping his arm about her shoulders. "What's so hard to believe about that?"

"No, it's not that," Lily responded, shaking her head of fiery red hair. "This is the first Halloween that I haven't given out candy to trick-or-treaters."

"Ah," he said. "That ridiculous tradition Muggles have of dressing up like witches and zombies and such and going about, asking for candy?" She nodded. "You do understand why we can't… don't you, Lils?"

"Of course I do," she scoffed, her green eyes growing wide. "If we did, we might as well invite Voldemort into our house for a cup of tea tomorrow afternoon."

James chuckled, "I'm sorry, love. But this war will hopefully be over soon… and then we can be a normal family. I promise, the first Halloween that we can, we'll buy all the candy we can and give out candy all night long."

She smiled at him as the clocked chimed nine. "Is it nine already?" she asked, glancing at the clock as she did so.

"Apparently," he said. "Time to put Harry to bed?" She nodded, standing from her sitting position on the couch to stretch. Her hand instinctively reached for her wand, which was resting upon the coffee table, but she stopped herself. They were just going to put Harry to bed. What in the world would she need her wand for?

James plucked Harry out of the air and gently scooped him into his arms. "There now, Harry," he muttered, planting a kiss on the one year old's forehead. "Time to go to sleep."

Lily linked her arm in James' as the two of them trudged up the stairs to Harry's room. Once they were there, James softly laid his son down in his crib, murmuring, "Good night, little one."

"Good night, Harry," Lily said, leaning of the railing of the crib to kiss his cheek. "I love you."

Harry gurgled happily and yawned, his emerald green eyes drooping. James wrapped his arms around Lily's waist, whispering, "I wish we could stay like this forever."

Suddenly, a crash sounded from the lower level of the house. They both froze in the room, wandless and vulnerable. "It's him," James whispered, his face losing all its color.

"Are you sure?" she mouthed back, fear invading her green eyes.

"Yes," he said, his lips pressed together tightly. "Lily, I'll fight him. Take Harry. Take Harry and _run_." He turned to leave the room, determination burning in his hazel eyes.

"James, wait!" she called. He turned to face her as she placed her hands on his shoulder, pressing a loving, passionate kiss to his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, his voice quivering barely noticeably. "I love you both." He left the room.

Pushing thoughts of James out of her mind, she grabbed Harry and clutched him tightly to his chest. A flash of brilliant green light shone from the stairway and she felt her heart freeze. She felt as though she was going to breakdown and cry at that moment, but she kept herself together, for Harry's sake. James was dead. Gone. Just like his sister.

"Lily Potter. We meet again."

Her lips pressed tightly together, Lily softly placed Harry back in his cradle and turned to face him, her eyes set ablaze. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"You know why I'm here," he said in his cold, cruel voice. His red eyes shone brightly in the dim light of the room, his thin, pale hand steadily pointing his wand at her. "Step aside; let me take the boy and you will live."

She laughed mirthlessly. "Only in your dreams, you son of a bitch."

His anger was evident in his face, but he did not kill her. Not just yet. "Don't be stupid, silly girl; just let me kill the boy and you can live."

"Exactly how thick _are_ you? The answer was, is, and always will be 'no, you asshole.'"

"You leave me no choice," he replied, raising his wand so that it pointed to her heart. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

A burst of green light shone in the room for a moment before Lily's lifeless body crumpled uselessly and fell to the floor. Chuckling, he stepped over her body, advancing towards the helpless child in the crib. But he would not get very far.

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Sirius stuffed his hands in his pockets as he listened to the sound of his very own flying motorcycle taking off into the pitch black night. He bit his lip, hoping that Hagrid would reach Dumbledore with Harry safely. The poor child had been through enough for a lifetime. As he walked mindlessly through the streets of silent Godric's Hollow, he wondered how the bloody hell Voldemort had found them. It was simply impossible, what with the secret of their living arrangements in Godric's Hollow being under the careful protection of the Fidelius Charm.

Realization hit him and he suddenly realized how obvious and clear the answer was. Wondering why had hadn't figured it out immediately, he let out a bellow of rage and fury that echoed through the empty town.

"WORMTAIL!"


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Enjoy the chappie and please review! **

Chapter 19

December 27, 1995

"I didn't know you had an aunt, Harry."

Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow at him as Sirius looked on at the three of them glumly. "Yeah. Until yesterday, I didn't know either," Harry replied. He turned towards his godfather, his green eyes plagued with worry. "Sirius… I don't know what to say. I'm… sorry."

His godfather shook his head, his dark eyes closed in pain. "Don't worry about it, Harry," Sirius said, his hand over his eyes as he shook his head.

"Don't you miss her?" Ron asked, only to receive a slap on the back of his head from Hermione.

"Ronald!" she hissed. "Must you always be so insensitive?"

"It was just a question," he muttered, blushing a furious red that gave his own hair a run for its money.

"It's okay, Ron," Sirius said, though he looked more forlorn than he had a moment ago, if that was at all possible. "I miss her constantly. It's kind of like…"

"Walking blindly alone through a tunnel and you can't see the light at the end?" Harry suggested, raising his eyes so that they met those of his godfather.

"Exactly," he sighed heavily, closing his eyes once more.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius," Hermione said, sounding sincere and genuine.

"I know." He looked up at the three teenagers in front of him, and wandered for a mere moment why he was bearing his soul to three underage wizards who could barely handle their own hormones. "Do you know what the worst part is?"

"What?" Ron asked, sounding as though he was more afraid of the answer than he was curious to hear it.

"We were never really married," he replied, shaking his head mournfully. "Not officially. I thought we had all the time we needed… but I was wrong. Harry, I would've been your uncle. Do you know what that would mean?"

Harry nodded, but was unable to speak, for his mouth had suddenly gone dry with realization. "Harry would've been brought to you instead of to the Dursleys," Hermione said, her brown eyes wide with shock. "And, knowing that you were responsible for Harry, you would not have confronted Pettigrew and gotten yourself falsely accused of murder and thrown in Azkaban. Harry would've grown up… with you."

"I'm sorry, mate," Ron muttered, putting a reassuring hand on Harry's back. "I'm sorry."

"Finding out about your parents' deaths… was torture for me," Sirius said slowly, as if easing the words out would make them any bit less painful. "James, Lily, and you were the only good things in my life then. Remus had gone deep undercover for the order. Peter had betrayed us all. Starr was dead. Then, I had to let Hagrid take you… for your own good. It was almost as if I was giving up. But I had promised Starr. And I couldn't, wouldn't break my promise. Losing James… as much as he reminded me of his sister, was almost like losing Starr again. But I lost my best mate at the same time."

"I… can't imagine," Harry stammered, suddenly extremely grateful for Ron's and Hermione's presences.

"Good," Sirius said, looking him dead in the eye. "I hope you never have to go through that."

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"How was your day, Padfoot?"

Remus Lupin looked over the top of his copy of _The Evening Prophet_ at Sirius, his light blue eyes full of questions. "It was fair, Moony," Sirius lied, looking down at the photograph he held in his hands.

Remus sighed, folding up his newspaper and setting it down on the table in between them. "You're a terrible liar, Sirius. Come on. What is it?"

"I finished telling Harry the story of Starr," Sirius admitted. "And Ron and Hermione joined us."

"I see," he said, looking at him knowingly. "I'm sure that can bring you down like a rock."

"No kidding," Sirius muttered. "Now do you understand why I'm feeling so morose?"

"Completely," Remus reassured him. "Sirius… I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when she died. Or when James and Lily died."

"It's okay, Remus," he replied, looking up at his old friend. "You were undercover. If you pulled out then, hundred of people would've died. You did _exactly_ what I wanted you to do."

Remus smiled at him. "You know, I always kind of expected you to give up if Starr died. Especially if Lily and James died. But you kept going. I was, and still am, pleasantly surprised."

Sirius managed to flash him a small smile. "She made me promise her."

"You're making absolutely no sense," he chuckled.

"She made me promise her that, no matter what happened, I would keep on living. And I don't intend to break a promise that I made, especially one that I made to her," he explained.

"Ah. I see," he replied. "Starr was always a smart girl."

"First ever to pass all her N.E.W.T.'s," Sirius added. "Remus… do you think there was any way I could've saved her?"

"No," Remus said firmly. "I know you sometimes condemn yourself for leaving her alone while you went to Diagon Alley, but Bellatrix was going to her eventually. What could you have done?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Part of me likes to think that, had I been there, I would've been able to save her. But then… the other part of me wants desperately to believe that there was nothing I could've done."

After a few moments of comfortable, contemplative silence, Remus said, "We're the only two left."

"Come again?" Sirius said, cocking his head at his friend. "I didn't quite catch that."

"We're the only two Marauders left," he repeated. "James is dead, Peter is as good as, Nova was our only honorary Marauder ever… that just leaves you and me, Pads."

"These are dark times, Moony."

"You're telling me," Sirius chuckled. "God… my fifteen year old godson is fighting in the front lines of what is soon going to turn into a war. This is ridiculous."

"Not much more ridiculous than when you turned James's hair pink."

The two middle-aged men shared a laugh, their chuckles echoing in the otherwise silent emptiness of the room.

"I miss those days."

"Me too, Moony. Me too."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I'm attempting to finish the story before Christmas Day, so wish me luck! This is the last full chapter, not including the epilogue I have planned. There will not be a sequel. I don't own anything from the actually series. Enjoy and please review! **

Chapter 20

"James? Lily? What the bloody hell are you two doing here so soon?"

James and Lily found themselves in a world of pure light, angelic voices echoing in the distance. "St-starr?" James stuttered. "What is this place?"

"Isn't that obvious? It's heaven," she explained. She had a sort of radiance to her, as if she didn't have a single care in the world. Her black hair shone brighter than ever before, her hazel eyes shining with a sort of fundamental joy. She looked as if she was sixteen again, and it suddenly struck James- that was when she had been the happiest. "So… what happened?"

"Isn't _that_ obvious?" Lily chuckled mirthlessly. "Voldemort found us."

"Oh gosh," Starr moaned. "Please tell me he didn't get Harry."

"We wouldn't know," James replied sadly.

"Well, he's not here and there's no way he could be in hell, so… I assume he's alive," Starr replied.

"But… how?"

"Who the heck cares?"

"'Heck'?" James chuckled, hugging his younger sister tightly as though he never wanted to let her go. "Since when do you say 'heck'? You were such a potty mouth."

"Um… when you're this close to God," Starr said seriously, "you kind of lose your potty mouth. Even me."

Lily now hugged her friend, saying, "Starr… we've missed you. Especially Sirius."

For the first time since Lily and James had seen her in heaven, a look of pain crossed her face. "I know. Believe me, I know."

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He seemed to lose his sense of hearing as Harry watched Sirius fall backwards through the veil, a smile still plastered across his weary features. He screamed, but he couldn't hear himself. "Nooooo!!!"

As he took off after Bellatrix, the faces of both Sirius and Starr flashed through his mind's eye. Her cackling laughter echoing through the entrance hall of the Ministry of Magic snapped him back to reality, all his senses returning to him in an instant. "_Crucio!_" he yelled, a measly red spark flying from the end of his wand.

She chuckled. "Nice try, little baby Potter, but that's not nearly good enough. You have to mean it!"

"You tortured Neville's parents into insanity… you killed my aunt… you killed my godfather," he growled. "Go to hell!"

"Such language! You better watch your mouth or your mummy will make you wash it out," she simpered. "Oh, wait- your mummy's dead!"

"_Crucio!_"

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"What is this place?"

Sirius spoke the words out loud, though he seemed to be alone. As he took in his surroundings, he realized that he seemed to be in King's Cross Station. "It's the in-between place," said a voice from behind him.

He whipped around in surprise; he had thought that he was alone. He found himself face to face with his dead brother Regulus, who looked the same as ever. "Regulus," he said, his voice tight, "what are you doing here?"

"Sirius… you must know… I died because I betrayed Voldemort. It's a long story, but you have to believe me," he pleaded with his older brother, his dark eyes full of begging.

Sirius looked at his younger brother, unsure of whether or not he should believe him. But then, years of childhood flashed before his eyes. "All right. I believe you. For now," Sirius said. "I died. Obviously, I know that. But… what about heaven and all that?"

Regulus chuckled. "When you die, you're offered a choice. Go on to the afterlife, or stay on earth, as a ghost. It's time for you to choose, brother."

"What about you? What did you choose?" Sirius queried, cocking his head at his younger brother.

"I'm still deciding," Regulus said. "You can take as long as you like… but the faster you choose, the faster you get there. And the longer you take, the harder the decision is to make. Keep that in mind, brother."

"Regulus, this is probably the easiest decision I've ever had to make in my life," he said. When he realized what he had said, he chuckled. "That was a poor choice of words."

"So?"

"I want to go on."

"Are you sure?"

"Never been more so."

"Then so be it."

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"Sirius?"

Sirius found himself face to face with his dead best mate, James Potter. "Prongs!" The two men embraced each other for a brief moment before Sirius pulled away, saying, "So. This is heaven?"

"Definitely," he said.

"James, what's going on?" asked a voice. Sirius turned and found himself looking at the late Lily Potter. "Sirius!" She threw her arms around him, squealing in delight. "It's so good to see you… but how did you die?"

"Can we not go through this right now? It's kind of a long story," he grinned, pulling out of her hug. "Harry's doing brilliantly, by the way. Fighting off a horde of Death Eaters last time I saw him."

"What?" Lily gaped at him.

"I told you it was a long story," he replied with a broad smile. "Where's… Starr?"

"She's somewhere around here," James smiled. "She's been waiting for you a long time, mate."

"Sirius?"

A shocked looking Starr approached Sirius from behind, unable to conceal the shimmer of unshed tears in her clear hazel eyes. "Speak of the devil," James said, pulling Lily away to give Sirius and Starr some privacy.

"Fourteen years, Black," she said, staring him straight in the eye, her arms stiff by her sides. "Fourteen years was the best you could do."

"I tried," he shrugged. Then, without warning, she closed the distance between them and threw her arms around him, her lips pressing against his in desperate need. She pulled away, burying her face in the crook of his neck, tears of happiness flowing from her eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you, too. Don't ever leave me again, Starr."

"I won't."


	21. Epilogue

**A/N: This is the epilogue. I've really enjoyed writing this story and I hope that you will continue to read my others. Thanks to all my loyal readers. Please review, and remember that I don't own anything from the real series. Enjoy. This is my Christmas gift to you. Merry Christmas! **

Epilogue

"Harry… I don't understand why this is so important to you. Why does it matter whether or not they were married?"

Kingsley looked up at Harry from behind his desk, an exasperated expression plastered over his face. Harry sighed, preparing to explain for the umpteenth time why this was so important. "Kingsley, Voldemort took over the Ministry so they had no choice but to elope. Shortly before he died, Sirius told me that it was one of his greatest regrets in life that they were never officially married. Kingsley… this would mean the world to me. Can't you just give me that?"

Kingsley sighed. "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?"

"Yes," Harry nodded eagerly. "Starr Potter and Sirius Black _need_ to be officially married."

"All right," Kingsley capitulated. "It will be done."

"Thank you so much." As he left the Minister's office, Harry felt a certain sense of satisfaction and alignment. Soon, even paperwork would show that Sirius and Starr Black were indeed married. He felt as though everything was right with the world. After all, it was all about destiny and fights to the finish.


End file.
